AACN's Washington Weekly

Senate Released Draft FY 2022 Spending Bills: Additional Investments in Nursing Education, Research, and Workforce

On October 18, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released draft (FY) 2022 spending bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS-ED) funding Bill, Explanatory Statement, and Summary, which includes:

• Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs: $280.972 million, which is a $16.5 million or approximately 6.24% increase from FY 2021 funding levels;

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): $47.923 billion, which is a $4.989 billion or approximately 11.62% increase from FY 2021 funding levels; and
• National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): $199.595 million, which is a $24.638 million increase or approximately 14.08% increase from FY 2021 funding levels. 

As anticipated, while seeing strong increases, the Senate draft puts forward amounts lower than what was seen in the House-passed minibus appropriations bill. The Senate spending bills comes as we near the December 3 deadline when the current continuing resolution or CR is set to expire. AACN will continue to monitor the FY 2022 appropriation conversations as they advance in the House and Senate. Please visit AACN’s Appropriations page for the current FY 2022 funding chart for more information.

FDA Public Workshop on Opioid Prescriber Education

AACN virtually attended a two-day Federal Drug Administration (FDA) workshop titled Reconsidering Mandatory Opioid Prescriber Education Through a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) in an Evolving Opioid Crisis. The workshop was convened by the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. This conversation gave stakeholders an opportunity to provide input on how aspects of the current opioid crisis could be mitigated by requiring mandatory prescriber education as part of a REMS. A second public workshop is being planned to solicit input on additional issues associated with a move to mandatory prescriber education. This workshop could include a discussion about potential mandatory prescriber education. To learn more, click here.

AACN Attends Event on How to Bridge Gaps in Health Care

On October 7, AACN virtually attended the Axios webinar, ‘’a conversation on bridging gaps in health access.’’ Congressman Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA-36) spoke at the event and stated that obstacles impacting health access are correlated to a lack of resources. As the nation works to address health equity, Congressman Ruiz explained that we must ensure all research is diversified. This will ensure that when a treatment is available to be marketed, it is one that works for all. To watch the webinar, click here.