Policy & Advocacy

Policy & Advocacy

AACN is a nonpartisan organization that serves to educate and advocate for nursing education, research, and practice. AACN is a leader in securing sustained federal support for nursing education and research; shaping legislative and regulatory policy affecting nursing schools; and ensuring continuing financial assistance for nursing students.

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AACN's Latest Advocacy, Coalition, and Policy Efforts


December 4: AACN signed onto a letter urging Congress to consider and pass the bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R.7153/S.3679).

November 21: AACN signed onto a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies requesting at least $680.4 million for the BRAIN Initiative and $541 million for the All of Us Research Program in any final FY 2025 spending bill.

November 18: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter urging Congress to take action on the NCC’s top legislative priorities before the end of the 118th Congress.

November 18: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter reiterating the NCC’s FY 2025 appropriations requests prior to the expiration of the current continuing resolution on December 20th. These requests include at least $310.472 million for Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs and at least $197.693 million for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) in FY 2025, as outlined in the bipartisan Senate Appropriations Committee passed bill. 

November 18: AACN sent a letter to Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Dr. Xavier Becerra, urging the inclusion of nurses on the Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB). 

November 18: AACN signed onto a Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC) letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging the highest possible funding levels for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII Health Professions and Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs in any final FY 2025 appropriations bill. The letters requests the Senate Appropriations Committee-approved combined funding level of $892.8 million for these programs.

November 18: AACN signed onto an Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees requesting at least $48.9 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), in any final FY 2025 appropriations bill. 

November 15: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter to the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees urging the consideration and advancement of H.R.3428/S.1633, the United States Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act of 2023. This bill honors the nearly 120,000 nurses who served in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps during World War II.

November 14: AACN sent a letter to Congress urging them to include AACN’s top appropriations and legislative priorities in any must pass legislation prior to the end of the 118th Congress.

October 16: AACN signed onto a letter to the leadership of major health insurance providers urging them to expand access to non-opioid pain therapies in outpatient surgical settings, through means similar to the Medicare reimbursement policies outlined in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.

September 24: AACN signed onto a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committee leadership urging them to support at least $1 billion for the Title V Maternal and Child Health Service Block Grant in any final FY 2025 appropriations bill.

September 20: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter to the House of Representatives urging them to consider and pass H.R.618, the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act. This bill 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.

September 18: AACN signed onto a letter to Congressional Leadership urging Congress to reauthorize the Community Health Center Fund at $5.8 billion per year for at least 3 years.

September 16: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter to Congress outlining updated FY 2025 appropriations requests for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). These include at least $310.472 million for Title VIII programs and at least $197.693 million for NINR, as outlined in the spending bill passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

September 9: AACN submitted comments to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services on CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule.

September 5: AACN signed onto a letter thanking Representatives David Schweikert (R-AZ-01) and Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) for their bipartisan work on including Sections 12 and 13 within H.R.8318, the Tribal Tax and Investment Reform Act of 2024.

September 3: AACN signed onto Research!America letter thanking Senate appropriators for providing a nearly $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations bill.

August 27: AACN signed on to an APRN Workgroup letter to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, regarding the CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule.

August 23: AACN signed onto an American Council on Education letter to the Secretary of the Department of Education (DOE), Miguel Cardona, in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding program integrity and institutional quality in the areas of distance education, return of Title IV funds, and the Federal TRIO programs. The letter spelled out concerns with proposed DOE actions in each of these areas.

August 15: AACN sent a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, in response proposed reforms to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The letter urged the Committee to prioritize funding for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and to maintain NINR as an independent Institute within NIH. AACN also signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter making the same request.

August 13: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) comment letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emphasizing the importance of nursing representation on federal advisory committees, taskforces, and councils.

August 2: AACN submitted comments in response to a Congressional request for information (RFI) on how Congress can better support research into cures and treatments for diseases. 

July 29: AACN signed onto a Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) letter reiterating support for AACN’s top appropriations priorities, including least $530 million for Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs and at least $210 million for the National Institute of Nursing Research for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.

June 25: AACN signed onto a letter urging Congress to provide full funding for non-discretionary defense programs in FY2025.

June 24: AACN signed onto a letter supporting funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.

June 7: AACN signed on to an American Council on Education letter to Congress opposing the addition of the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act and the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act as amendments to the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (H.R.8070).