I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7279 
To provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing school 
faculty members. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 30, 2026 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Ms. UNDERWOOD, and Mrs. 
KIGGANS of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide for a wage differential program to support new 
nursing school faculty members. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nurse Faculty Short-
age Reduction Act of 2026’’. 
SEC. 2. NURSE FACULTY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 
Section 846A of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 297n–1) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol-
lows: 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each agreement entered 
into under subsection (a)(1) shall—’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ each place 
it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’; 
(B) in paragraph (3), by redesignating 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and 
(ii), respectively, and adjusting the margins ac-
cordingly; 
(C) in paragraph (6), by redesignating 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and 
(ii), respectively, and adjusting the margins ac-
cordingly; 
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 
through (6) as subparagraphs (A) through (F), 
respectively, and adjusting the margins accord-
ingly; and 
(E) in subparagraph (F)(ii), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘paragraph (4)’’; 
(4) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘subsection 
(c)(6)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)(F)(ii)’’; 
(5) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 
as paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively, and ad-
justing the margins accordingly; and 
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(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) 
NURSE
FACULTY
DEMONSTRATION
PRO-
GRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish and carry out a demonstration program de-
scribed in subsection (a)(2) under which eligible 
schools of nursing receive a grant for purposes of 
supplementing the salaries of eligible nursing faculty 
members to enhance recruitment and retention of 
nursing faculty members. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall— 
‘‘(A) be a school of nursing; and 
‘‘(B) submit an application to the Sec-
retary, at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may 
require, including— 
‘‘(i)(I) to the extent such information 
is available to the school of nursing, the 
salary history of nursing faculty at such 
school who previously were nurses in clin-
ical practice, for the most recent 3-year pe-
riod ending on the date of application, ad-
justed for inflation as appropriate and bro-
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ken down by credentials, experience, and 
levels of education of such nurses; or 
‘‘(II) if the information described in 
subclause (I) is not available, information 
on the average local salary of nurses in 
clinical practice, adjusted for inflation as 
appropriate and broken down by creden-
tials, experience, and levels of education of 
the individual nurses, in accordance with 
such requirements as the Secretary may 
specify; 
‘‘(ii) an attestation of the average 
nursing faculty salary at the school of 
nursing during the most recent 3-year pe-
riod prior to the date of application, ad-
justed for inflation, as appropriate, broken 
down by credentials, experience, and levels 
of education of such faculty members; 
‘‘(iii) the number of nursing faculty 
member vacancies at the entity at the time 
of application, and the entity’s projection 
of such vacancies over the ensuing 5-year 
period; and 
‘‘(iv) a description of the entity’s 
plans to identify funding sources to 
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sustainably continue, after the 3-year 
grant period, the salary available to the eli-
gible nursing faculty member pursuant to 
the program under this subsection during 
such grant program and to retain eligible 
nursing faculty members after the end of 
the grant period. 
‘‘(3) AWARDS.—A grant awarded under this 
subsection, with respect to supporting eligible nurs-
ing faculty members, shall— 
‘‘(A) be awarded to the school of nursing 
to supplement the salaries of eligible faculty 
members at the school of nursing, annually, for 
up to a 3-year period, in an amount equal to, 
for each eligible nursing faculty member at the 
eligible entity during the grant period, the dif-
ference between— 
‘‘(i) the average salary of nurses in 
clinical practice, as submitted under sub-
clause (I) or (II) of paragraph (2)(B)(i); 
and 
‘‘(ii) the greater of— 
‘‘(I) the salary for the eligible 
nursing faculty member at the school 
of nursing; or 
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‘‘(II) the average nursing faculty 
salary, as submitted under paragraph 
(2)(B)(ii) for faculty members with 
the same or similar credentials and 
level of education; 
‘‘(B) notwithstanding section 803(a), be 
used in its entirety to supplement the eligible 
faculty member’s salary; and 
‘‘(C) be conditioned upon the school of 
nursing maintaining, for each year in which the 
award is made as described in subparagraph 
(A), a salary for such faculty member at a level 
that is not less than the greater of the amount 
under subclause (I) or (II) of subparagraph 
(A)(ii). 
‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
subsection, the Secretary shall ensure the equitable 
geographic distribution of awards, and shall give pri-
ority to applications from schools of nursing that 
demonstrate— 
‘‘(A) the greatest need for such grant, 
which may be based upon the financial cir-
cumstances of the school of nursing, the num-
ber of eligible nurse faculty members, the 
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planned number of students to be trained or ad-
mitted off a wait list; 
‘‘(B) training or partnerships to serve vul-
nerable patient populations, such as through 
the location or activity of a school in a health 
professional shortage area (as defined in section 
332); or 
‘‘(C) recruitment and retention of faculty 
from underrepresented populations. 
‘‘(5) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection precludes a school of nursing or an 
eligible nursing faculty member receiving an award 
under this section from obtaining or receiving any 
other form of Federal support or funding. 
‘‘(6) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of the Nurse Faculty Shortage 
Reduction Act of 2026, the Secretary shall submit to 
the Committee on Finance and the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen-
ate and the Committee on Ways and Means and the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 
of Representatives, a report that evaluates the pro-
gram established under this subsection, including— 
‘‘(A) the impact of such program on re-
cruitment and retention rates of nursing fac-
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ulty, as available, and specifically for each fac-
ulty member participating in the program; and 
‘‘(B) recommendations and considerations 
for Congress on continuing the program under 
this subsection. 
‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE NURSING FACULTY MEM-
BER.—The term ‘eligible nursing faculty mem-
ber’ means a nursing faculty member who— 
‘‘(i) was hired by a school of nursing 
within the 2-year period preceding the sub-
mission of an application under paragraph 
(2), or a prospective nursing faculty mem-
ber; 
‘‘(ii) is currently employed at the 
school of nursing and who demonstrates 
the need for such support; 
‘‘(iii) previously worked as a nurse in 
clinical practice or as a nurse faculty mem-
ber at another school of nursing; or 
‘‘(iv) may work on a part-time basis 
as a nursing faculty member, for whom 
such award amounts described in para-
graph (3) shall be prorated relative to the 
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amount of time participating in part-time 
teaching. 
‘‘(B) INFLATION.—The term ‘inflation’ 
means the Consumer Price Index for all urban 
consumers (all items; U.S. city average). 
‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
To carry out this subsection, there is authorized to 
be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2027 through 2031.’’. 
Æ 
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