AACN's Latest Advocacy, Coalition, and Policy Efforts
March 2: AACN signed onto a letter led by the American Council on Education (ACE) urging the Department of Education to expand the definition of professional degree programs, specifically citing post-baccalaureate nursing as programs that should be included.
March 2: AACN led and signed onto a comment letter, along with 277 national and state-level organizations across different health professions, including 38 members of the Nursing Community Coalition (NCC), urging the Department of Education to amend its proposed rule and include post-baccalaureate nursing degrees (MSN, DNP, Ph.D.) explicitly in the list of “professional” degrees.
March 2: AACN submitted comments to the Department of Education in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking strongly requesting that the Department explicitly include post-baccalaureate nursing programs in its definition of “professional degree” programs as it implements the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. AACN also signed onto comment letters from the Nursing Community Coalition and the Tri-Council for Nursing making the same request.
February 17: AACN signed onto a letter led by the American Association of Birth Centers, thanking the Congressional champions and supporting the passage of the Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Service (MOMS) Act (H.6394/S.1599). This bipartisan bill would expand grant opportunities for current and future nurse midwives.
February 12: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter to Congress supporting the passage of the Title VIII Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S.1874/H.R.3593).
January 23: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter supporting the passage of the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act (S.3296), as well thanking Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) for introducing the bill. This legislation would retire outdated barriers in the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) that limit the ability of nurse practitioners (NPs) to diagnose and oversee the care and treatment of federal employees who are injured or become ill in the course of their employment.
January 22: AACN sent a letter to Congress outlining support for the conferenced Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS-ED) bill that includes $305.472 million for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs and $197.693 million for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). AACN also signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter making the same request.
January 9: AACN signed onto a letter led by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) urging lawmakers to conduct swift and robust oversight regarding the abrupt changes to the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule.