Policy Watch: Higher Education Admissions and Vaccine Updates

August Guide to Advocacy Now Available, Take Action Today: Members of Congress are back in their respective districts for the August work period or "recess." Over the next few weeks, federal policymakers will engage with constituents, and they need to hear from you! AACN encourages you to take action and send messages to your elected leaders urging them to support academic nursing. Your outreach is especially timely, as Congress will be considering legislative and funding priorities upon their return from recess in September. View AACN’s August Toolkit for more information on ways to engage with policymakers and champion academic nursing.

Federal Policy Updates

• On August 11, AACN signed onto a letter led by Families USA urging HHS Secretary Kennedy to preserve the structure and membership of the United States Preventive Services Task Force.
• A new Executive Order, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking, will give political appointees oversight of the administration of federal grants.
• Secretary of Education McMahon directs the National Center for Education Statistics to collect admissions data for institutions of higher education that will allow Americans to ensure race-based preferences are not used in university admissions processes, in accordance with a new Presidential Memoranda, Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions.
• HHS will begin a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

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