FY 2026 Minibus Released with Level Funding for Title VIII and NINR

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have released their conferenced bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, which includes Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS-ED). See bill text, explanatory statement, and bill summary. This comes as the current continuing resolution (CR) is set to expire on January 30.

Under this proposal, Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs receives $305.472 million, level funding with the FY 2024 enacted amount, and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) is funded at $197.693 million, also level with FY 2024. Within Title VIII, a proposed $2 million decrease in Nursing Workforce Diversity program is offset by a $1 million increase for both the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention Program and the Nurse Practitioner Optional Fellowship Program. The preservation of these programs reflects elevated advocacy from AACN members, including more than 6,400 messages sent to congressional champions on FY 2026 funding and the ongoing engagement in the Face of Academic Nursing Initiative.

The bill also includes multiple congressionally directed spending projects supporting academic nursing, including investments in nursing simulation labs, facilities, equipment, rural nurse education, and training programs at member schools across ten states. A House vote is expected later this week, followed by Senate floor action anticipated next week. We will continue to keep members informed as the process moves forward.

AACN Joins White House Roundtable on Rural Health

On January 16, President Trump held a roundtable titled The Great, Historic Investment in Rural Health to highlight the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program. Authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the RHT is a $50 billion, five-year federal initiative designed to strengthen rural health systems by improving access to care, advancing service delivery models, expanding workforce capacity, and modernizing health infrastructure.

Thanks go to Dr. Sheila Melander from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing for representing AACN and academic nursing at this event (see photos below). Click here to watch the roundtable discussion.

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