A Democratic bill with 2 Democratic cosponsors · See all 2 cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, known as the Public Health Nursing Act, seeks to amend the Public Health Service Act. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work on establishing, expanding, and sustaining a public health nursing workforce. The Secretary can do this by providing grants to State, local, and territorial public health departments. These funds are intended for recruiting, hiring, training, and providing supplies for licensed registered nurses. The bill also establishes specific priorities for grant recipients to ensure help reaches specific populations. Finally, it authorizes $5,000,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2035.
Yes· 3 of 12
- Scored +8
Would women be better off under this?
The bill prioritizes maternal health, prenatal, and postpartum care.
- Scored +8
Does this make health care easier to get in general?
The bill funds the expansion of public health nurses in underserved, rural, and high-need areas to improve access to care.
- Scored +7
Would children be better off under this?
The bill targets the reduction of infant mortality through expanded nursing services.
The opposite
- Scored -1
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?
The bill authorizes $5,000,000,000 in annual federal spending through 2035.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Expansion of Nursing Workforce: The Secretary is tasked with establishing, expanding, and sustaining a public health nursing workforce through grants to various public health departments (Section 2(a)).
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Employment and Training: Grant funds can be used for wages, benefits, recruiting, hiring, and training of licensed registered nurses (Section 2(b)(1)(A)).
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Increased Access via Mobile and Home Care: Funding supports nurses working in public health facilities, mobile health clinics, acute care hospitals, or those providing home visitation (Section 2(b)(1)(A)(ii)).
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Targeted Support for Vulnerable Groups: Priority is given to applicants serving populations with high rates of chronic disease, infant mortality, or maternal morbidity and mortality (Section 2(c)(1)(A)).
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Support for Underserved Areas: The bill prioritizes low-income populations, medically underserved areas, health professional shortage areas, and rural or traditionally underserved populations (Section 2(b)(1)(A)(i) and Section 2(c)(1)(B-E)).
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Culturally Appropriate Care: Priority is given to those who demonstrate a plan to provide services in a language and cultural context appropriate to the people they serve (Section 2(c)(2)).
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Comprehensive Health Services: Public health nurses are defined as providing services in nutrition, infectious diseases, chronic disease management, and maternal, prenatal, and postpartum care (Section 2(e)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Maintenance of Effort Requirements: Recipients must agree to maintain their non-Federal spending for these activities at a level no less than what they spent in the previous fiscal year (Section 2(d)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would women be better off under this? — The bill prioritizes maternal health, prenatal, and postpartum care. Would children be better off under this? — The bill targets the reduction of infant mortality through expanded nursing services. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — The bill prioritizes providing health services to low-income populations. Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — The bill prioritizes serving populations residing in rural areas. Would Hispanic Americans be better off under this? — The bill prioritizes services provided in a language and cultural context appropriate to the community. Would union members be better off under this? — The bill provides priority to grant recipients that have collective bargaining agreements with labor organizations.
- Healthcare
- Does this make health care easier to get in general? — The bill funds the expansion of public health nurses in underserved, rural, and high-need areas to improve access to care. Does this put more money into medical research? — The bill provides funding for nursing activities related to infectious diseases and chronic disease management.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this narrow racial gaps in how people are treated? — The bill prioritizes serving populations in a language and cultural context appropriate to the people they serve. Is this likely to lift people out of poverty? — The bill prioritizes grant recipients that serve low-income populations.
- Economy And Finance
- Is this likely to create jobs? — The bill authorizes billions of dollars to recruit, hire, and train a public health nursing workforce. Does this reduce what the federal government spends? — The bill authorizes $5,000,000,000 in annual federal spending through 2035.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this invest in rural communities? — The bill explicitly prioritizes populations residing in rural or traditionally underserved areas.
- 1/8/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Tammy DuckworthDemocrat · Illinois
Ron WydenDemocrat · Oregon