119-hr4407

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4407 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4407

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to support and stabilize the 
 existing nursing workforce, establish programs to increase the number 
 of nurses, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 15, 2025

Mrs. Kim (for herself, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Bacon, Ms. McBride, and Mr. 
 Obernolte) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to support and stabilize the 
 existing nursing workforce, establish programs to increase the number 
 of nurses, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``National Nursing Workforce Center 
Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. STATE NURSING WORKFORCE CENTERS.

 Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.) 
is amended--

    (1) by redesignating part G (42 U.S.C. 295j et seq.) as 
 part H; and

    (2) by inserting after part F the following new part:

 ``PART G--NURSING WORKFORCE CENTERS

``

SEC. 785. STATE AND REGIONAL NURSING WORKFORCE CENTER DATA COLLECTION 
 PILOT PROGRAM.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may carry out a 2-year pilot 
program to establish new or enhance existing State-based nursing 
workforce centers, evaluate the impact of State-based nursing workforce 
centers on outcomes, and assess the feasibility of nursing workforce 
public-private partnerships. The Secretary shall begin implementation 
of such pilot program not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of the National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025.
 ``

    (b) Grant Terms.--
 ``

    (1) Term.--The term of a grant awarded under the pilot 
 program under subsection

    (a) shall be 2 years.
 ``

    (2) Matching requirement.--As a condition on receipt of a 
 grant under the pilot program under subsection

    (a) , the 
 Secretary shall require the applicant to agree, with respect to 
 costs to be incurred by the applicant in carrying out the 
 activities funded through the grant, to make available non-
 Federal contributions (in cash or in kind) toward such costs in 
 an amount that is equal to not less than $1 for each $4 of 
 Federal funds provided through the grant. Such contributions 
 may be made directly or through donations from public or 
 private entities.
 ``
            (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an entity shall be--
 ``

    (1) a State agency;
 ``

    (2) a State board of nursing;
 ``

    (3) an organization that is exempt from taxation under 
 

section 501
            (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
 ``

    (4) a community-based organization;
 ``

    (5) a school of nursing (as defined in 

section 801); or
 ``

    (6) another type of school or program determined by the 
 Secretary to be an eligible entity for purposes of this 
 section.
 ``
            (d) Equitable Distribution.--In awarding grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall ensure, to the greatest extent possible, 
that such grants are equitably distributed among the geographical 
regions of the United States.
 ``

    (e) Priority.--In selecting the eligible entity to be awarded a 
grant under this section for a nursing workforce center in a particular 
State, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
 ``

    (1) propose to provide statewide services;
 ``

    (2) have expertise in the State's nursing workforce 
 issues;
 ``

    (3) have a history of convening entities to address 
 nursing workforce issues; and
 ``

    (4) have partnerships with entities that traditionally 
 educate and employ the State's nurses.
 ``

    (f) Use of Funds.--A nursing workforce center supported under 
this section may use funds provided under this section for the 
following statewide activities:
 ``

    (1) Conducting comprehensive analysis of and research 
 on--
 ``
        (A) existing State nursing workforce data and 
 gaps in such data;
 ``
        (B) 2- and 4-year nursing education programs, 
 including with respect to--
 ``
            (i) faculty capacity and pay;
 ``
            (ii) enrollment, retention, and 
 graduation;
 ``
            (iii) services for nursing students and 
 the outcomes of such services;
 ``
            (iv) facility needs; and
 ``
            (v) clinical placement capacity;
 ``
            (C) State-specific scholarships, grants, and 
 financial aid; and
 ``
            (D) factors contributing to retention and 
 recruitment challenges and to nurses leaving the 
 workplace or profession.
 ``

    (2) Conducting strategic nursing workforce planning with 
 employers across all work settings and nursing education.
 ``

    (3) Conducting focused research on trends in nursing 
 shortages, including the fiscal and clinical outcomes of 
 contract nursing.
 ``

    (4) Establishing and implementing programs to--
 ``
        (A) support and retain faculty to increase 
 enrollment in schools of nursing;
 ``
        (B) recruit and retain nurses in all settings 
 where nurses practice;
 ``
            (C) support leadership development;
 ``
            (D) prepare the nursing workforce to address 
 social determinants of health and health inequities;
 ``
        (E) prepare nurses for public health crisis and 
 pandemic response; and
 ``
        (F) assist individuals in obtaining education and 
 training required to enter the nursing profession, and 
 advance within such profession, such as by providing 
 career counseling and mentoring.
 ``

    (g) Reports.--Not later than one year after the date on which the 
first grant is awarded under the pilot program under subsection

    (a) , 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the grants awarded under such pilot program during the year 
covered by the report. Each such report shall include--
 ``

    (1) a description of initiatives to study the unique 
 characteristics of State nursing workforces, and efforts to 
 increase the number of new nurses, recruit nurses to the 
 nursing profession, and retain nurses in the workplace;
 ``

    (2) impact data on nurses served by nursing workforce 
 centers, including demographic information of the individuals 
 served, the number of such individuals, and the types of 
 services provided;
 ``

    (3) the effectiveness of establishing formal public-
 private relationships for purposes of understanding the 
 national nursing workforce through improved data collection and 
 standardization;
 ``

    (4) data on continuous evaluation and quality 
 improvement, and other relevant data as determined by the 
 Secretary; and
 ``

    (5) the Secretary's recommendations and best practices 
 for--
 ``
        (A) reducing shortages among different nursing 
 specialties;
 ``
        (B) reducing shortages in rural and underserved 
 areas;
 ``
            (C) improving geographical distribution of the 
 nursing workforce; and
 ``
            (D) reducing shortages among different types of 
 nursing employers.
 ``

    (h) Funding.--From the amounts appropriated to the Health 
Resources and Services Administration for workforce initiatives, the 
Secretary may use up to $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 and 
2027 for purposes of carrying out this section.''.

SEC. 3. STATE AND REGIONAL CENTERS FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE ANALYSIS.

    (a) Expansion of Covered Programs.--

Section 761
            (c) (1)
        (A) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n
            (c) (1)
        (A) ) is amended by 
striking ``under this title'' and inserting ``under this Act''.

    (b) Analysis and Technical Assistance.--

Section 761
            (c) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n
            (c) ) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
 ``

    (3) Minimum requirement.--At least one grant or contract 
 awarded under this subsection may be awarded to an eligible 
 entity that demonstrates--
 ``
        (A) a mission to advance and support the nursing 
 workforce;
 ``
        (B) experience and expertise in guiding State-
 level nursing workforce centers;
 ``
            (C) experience in working with nursing workforce 
 data;
 ``
            (D) expertise in analytical methods and tools 
 appropriate for nursing workforce research; and
 ``
        (E) awareness of emerging topics, issues, and 
 trends related to the nursing workforce.
 ``

    (4) Analysis and reporting.--Analysis and reporting 
 carried out pursuant to a grant or contract under this 
 subsection may include--
 ``
        (A) collaborating with nursing workforce centers 
 to produce or deliver, with respect to the supply of 
 nurses, the demand for nurses, and the capacity to 
 educate and train the nursing workforce--
 ``
            (i) regional and national reports;
 ``
            (ii) articles in peer-reviewed journals;
 ``
            (iii) presentations at national and 
 international conferences and meetings; and
 ``
            (iv) policy briefs, fact sheets, 
 articles, blogs, and other publications 
 available in the public domain;
 ``
        (B) evaluating the programs and activities of the 
 nursing workforce centers overall;
 ``
            (C) developing evidence-based or evidence-
 informed strategies and best practices to alleviate 
 nursing workforce shortages across States and regions; 
 and
 ``
            (D) conducting rapid data analysis and short-
 term, issue-specific research.
 ``

    (5) Technical assistance.--Technical assistance provided 
 pursuant to this subsection may include--
 ``
        (A) providing technical assistance to nursing 
 workforce centers on the collection, analysis, and 
 reporting of standardized supply, demand, and education 
 and training data to inform analysis conducted pursuant 
 to this subsection;
 ``
        (B) collaborating with nursing workforce centers 
 to identify and deliver evidence-based or evidence-
 informed strategies to alleviate nursing shortages and 
 the maldistribution of nurses;
 ``
            (C) providing online and in-person training 
 opportunities for nurses and other staff at nursing 
 workforce centers; and
 ``
            (D) developing and maintaining a website that--
 ``
            (i) is accessible to grant and contract 
 recipients under 

section 785 and this section;
 ``
            (ii) supports resources for the provision 
 of technical assistance under this section, 
 such as--
 ``
            (I) evidence-based or evidence-
 informed educational materials, tools, 
 recent findings of interest, and links 
 to relevant resources; and
 ``
            (II) logistical and 
 administrative information, such as 
 online trainings, webinars, and 
 publications; and
 ``
            (iii) includes a publicly accessible 
 repository of webinars, tools, and resources.
 ``

    (6) === Definition. ===
-In this subsection, the term `nursing 
 workforce center' means a nursing workforce center funded under 
 

section 785.''.
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