Policy Watch: Federal Advocacy on Higher Education and Public Health

AACN needs you to ask your Members of Congress to cosponsor and pass the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S.1874/H.R.3593). This bill would reauthorize the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs, which address all aspects of nursing education, practice, recruitment, and retention. By reauthorizing these crucial programs, this legislation would help ensure that nursing pathways remain strong, and patients maintain access to high-quality nursing care.

Policy Updates:

• AACN joined with the American Council on Education and other national associations in filing an amicus brief in support of Harvard University’s lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to subvert higher education to the federal government’s political leadership.
• On June 10, AACN signed on to a letter along with other national nursing organizations expressing strong concerns over HHS Secretary Kennedy’s decision to dismiss all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
• On June 5, AACN joined with a broad coalition of organizations in a letter urging the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to reject the $18 billion in cuts to the National Institutes of Health proposed in the President's budget and work with the Administration on a different path forward.
• Last week, Senator Alex Padilla (CA) and Representative Judy Chu (CA-28) introduced bicameral legislation to help students afford advanced education by restoring graduate students’ eligibility for receiving subsidized federal loans.

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