H.R. 7279

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7279 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7279

To provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing 
school faculty members.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 30, 2026

Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Ms. Underwood, and Mrs. 
Kiggans of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing 
school faculty members.

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 ``Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act 
of 2026''.

SEC. 2. NURSE FACULTY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

Section 846A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297n-1) is 
amended--
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
``(a) In General.--To increase the number of qualified nursing 
faculty, the Secretary may--
``(1) enter into an agreement with any accredited school of 
nursing for the establishment and operation of a student loan 
fund in accordance with subsection (b); and
``(2) award nurse faculty grants in accordance with 
subsection (c).'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (D) 
of paragraph (2) as clauses (i) through (iv), 
respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as 
subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively, and 
adjusting the margins accordingly;
(C) in subparagraph (C), as so redesignated, by 
striking ``subsection (c)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
(2)''; and
(D) by striking ``(b) Agreements.--Each agreement 
entered into under subsection (a) shall--'' and 
inserting the following:
``(b) School of Nursing Student Loan Fund.--
``(1) In general.--Each agreement entered into under 
subsection (a)(1) shall--'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``subsection (a)'' each place it 
appears and inserting ``subsection (a)(1)'';
(B) in paragraph (3), by redesignating 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), 
respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
(C) in paragraph (6), by redesignating 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), 
respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as 
subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively, and 
adjusting the margins accordingly; and
(E) in subparagraph (F)(ii), as so redesignated, by 
striking ``subsection (e)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
(4)'';
(4) in subsection (e), by striking ``subsection (c)(6)(B)'' 
and inserting ``paragraph (2)(F)(ii)'';
(5) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) as 
paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively, and adjusting the 
margins accordingly; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Nurse Faculty Demonstration Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish and carry 
out a demonstration program described in subsection (a)(2) 
under which eligible schools of nursing receive a grant for 
purposes of supplementing the salaries of eligible nursing 
faculty members to enhance recruitment and retention of nursing 
faculty members.
``(2) Eligible entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this subsection, an entity shall--
``(A) be a school of nursing; and
``(B) submit an application to the Secretary, at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including--
``(i)(I) to the extent such information is 
available to the school of nursing, the salary 
history of nursing faculty at such school who 
previously were nurses in clinical practice, 
for the most recent 3-year period ending on the 
date of application, adjusted for inflation as 
appropriate and broken down by credentials, 
experience, and levels of education of such 
nurses; or
``(II) if the information described in 
subclause (I) is not available, information on 
the average local salary of nurses in clinical 
practice, adjusted for inflation as appropriate 
and broken down by credentials, experience, and 
levels of education of the individual nurses, 
in accordance with such requirements as the 
Secretary may specify;
``(ii) an attestation of the average 
nursing faculty salary at the school of nursing 
during the most recent 3-year period prior to 
the date of application, adjusted for 
inflation, as appropriate, broken down by 
credentials, experience, and levels of 
education of such faculty members;
``(iii) the number of nursing faculty 
member vacancies at the entity at the time of 
application, and the entity's projection of 
such vacancies over the ensuing 5-year period; 
and
``(iv) a description of the entity's plans 
to identify funding sources to sustainably 
continue, after the 3-year grant period, the 
salary available to the eligible nursing 
faculty member pursuant to the program under 
this subsection during such grant program and 
to retain eligible nursing faculty members 
after the end of the grant period.
``(3) Awards.--A grant awarded under this subsection, with 
respect to supporting eligible nursing faculty members, shall--
``(A) be awarded to the school of nursing to 
supplement the salaries of eligible faculty members at 
the school of nursing, annually, for up to a 3-year 
period, in an amount equal to, for each eligible 
nursing faculty member at the eligible entity during 
the grant period, the difference between--
``(i) the average salary of nurses in 
clinical practice, as submitted under subclause 
(I) or (II) of paragraph (2)(B)(i); and
``(ii) the greater of--
``(I) the salary for the eligible 
nursing faculty member at the school of 
nursing; or
``(II) the average nursing faculty 
salary, as submitted under paragraph 
(2)(B)(ii) for faculty members with the 
same or similar credentials and level 
of education;
``(B) notwithstanding section 803(a), be used in 
its entirety to supplement the eligible faculty 
member's salary; and
``(C) be conditioned upon the school of nursing 
maintaining, for each year in which the award is made 
as described in subparagraph (A), a salary for such 
faculty member at a level that is not less than the 
greater of the amount under subclause (I) or (II) of 
subparagraph (A)(ii).
``(4) Priority.--In awarding grants under this subsection, 
the Secretary shall ensure the equitable geographic 
distribution of awards, and shall give priority to applications 
from schools of nursing that demonstrate--
``(A) the greatest need for such grant, which may 
be based upon the financial circumstances of the school 
of nursing, the number of eligible nurse faculty 
members, the planned number of students to be trained 
or admitted off a wait list;
``(B) training or partnerships to serve vulnerable 
patient populations, such as through the location or 
activity of a school in a health professional shortage 
area (as defined in section 332); or
``(C) recruitment and retention of faculty from 
underrepresented populations.
``(5) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
precludes a school of nursing or an eligible nursing faculty 
member receiving an award under this section from obtaining or 
receiving any other form of Federal support or funding.
``(6) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
enactment of the Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act of 2026, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Finance and the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, a report 
that evaluates the program established under this subsection, 
including--
``(A) the impact of such program on recruitment and 
retention rates of nursing faculty, as available, and 
specifically for each faculty member participating in 
the program; and
``(B) recommendations and considerations for 
Congress on continuing the program under this 
subsection.
``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Eligible nursing faculty member.--The term 
`eligible nursing faculty member' means a nursing 
faculty member who--
``(i) was hired by a school of nursing 
within the 2-year period preceding the 
submission of an application under paragraph 
(2), or a prospective nursing faculty member;
``(ii) is currently employed at the school 
of nursing and who demonstrates the need for 
such support;
``(iii) previously worked as a nurse in 
clinical practice or as a nurse faculty member 
at another school of nursing; or
``(iv) may work on a part-time basis as a 
nursing faculty member, for whom such award 
amounts described in paragraph (3) shall be 
prorated relative to the amount of time 
participating in part-time teaching.
``(B) Inflation.--The term `inflation' means the 
Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (all 
items; U.S. city average).
``(8) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this 
subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.''.
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