Public Health Nursing Act

This bill would require the federal Department of Health and Human Services to give grants to state, local, and territorial public health departments to build and keep a public health nursing workforce. Grant money would pay for recruiting, hiring, training, wages, and benefits of registered nurses working as public health nurses, plus medical supplies and administrative costs. Priority would go to applicants serving areas with high rates of chronic disease or infant or maternal deaths, low-income, rural, or underserved populations, and to applicants with union agreements or policies not to interfere with workers' organizing rights. Grant recipients would have to keep their own spending on these activities at least at the prior year's level. The bill would authorize $5 billion per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2035.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Edward J. Markey Democrat sponsor
• 2 cosponsors