Policy Watch: Title VIII Funding and Research Advocacy Awards

Deadline this Friday!
Ask Your Representatives to Support Title VIII Funding

House Nursing Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) and Co-Chair and nurse Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02) are circulating a Dear Colleague Letter urging the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to provide $610 million for Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs in Fiscal Year 2027. The deadline for your federal Representative to sign onto this bipartisan House Dear Colleague Letter is COB this Friday, March 20. Click here to send a message today.

In Case You Missed It

The 2026 Nurse Corps Scholarship Program application cycle is now open. This program provides scholarships to nursing students in exchange for a minimum two-year, full-time service commitment (or part-time equivalent) at an eligible health care facility with a critical shortage of nurses. Click here to learn more and apply by April 9, 7:30 pm (ET).

On March 2, AACN submitted comments to the Department of Education in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, strongly urging the Department to explicitly include post-baccalaureate nursing programs (MSN, DNP, PhD) in its definition of “professional degree” programs as it implements the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

On March 10, AACN attended Research!America’s 2026 Advocacy Awards, which highlighted the importance of fostering public trust in science through advocacy and communication, as well as the crucial need for further investment in health research. Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Chris Coons (D-DE) received the Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy, and Mary Woolley, outgoing President and CEO of Research!America, received the John Edward Porter Legacy Award. See photos below.

View all updates from Policy Watch