I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1460 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a graduate degree 
loan repayment program for nurses who become nursing school faculty 
members. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 12, 2009 
Mr. LATHAM (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. BISHOP of Geor-
gia, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. HARE, 
Ms. DELAURO, Mr. MCMAHON, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. PAT-
RICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, and Mr. GOR-
DON of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a grad-
uate degree loan repayment program for nurses who 
become 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 ‘‘Nurses’ Higher Edu-
cation and Loan Repayment Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Health Resources and Services Admin-
istration estimates there is currently a shortage of 
more than 200,000 registered nurses nationwide and 
projects the shortage will grow to over 1 million 
nurses by 2020, 36 percent less than needed to meet 
demand for nursing care. 
(2) The shortage of qualified nursing faculty is 
the primary factor driving the inability of nursing 
schools to graduate more registered nurses to meet 
the nation’s growing workforce demand. 
(3) There continues to be strong interest on the 
part of young Americans to enter the nursing field. 
The National League for Nursing estimates that 
88,000 qualified applications, or one out of every 
three submitted to basic registered nurse programs 
in 2006, were rejected due to lack of capacity. 
(4) The American Association of Colleges of 
Nursing (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘AACN’’) es-
timates that 49,948 applicants were turned away 
specifically from baccalaureate and graduate schools 
of nursing in 2008 and over 70 percent of the 
schools responding to the AACN survey reported a 
lack of nurse faculty as the number one reason for 
turning away qualified applicants. Likewise, nearly 
70 percent of the associate’s degree registered nurse 
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programs responding to the most recent American 
Association of Community Colleges Nursing Survey 
reported a lack of faculty to teach as the number 
one reason for turning away qualified applicants. 
(5) Large numbers of faculty members at 
schools of nursing in the United States are nearing 
retirement. According to the AACN, the average age 
of a nurse faculty member is 55 years old and the 
average age at retirement is 62. 
(6) The current nationwide nurse faculty va-
cancy rate is estimated to be as high as 7.6 percent, 
including 814 vacant positions at schools of nursing 
offering baccalaureate and advanced degrees and, in 
2006, as many as 880 in associate’s degree pro-
grams. 
(7) Market forces have created disincentives for 
individuals qualified to become nurse educators from 
pursing this career. The average annual salary for 
an associate professor of nursing with a master’s de-
gree is nearly 20 percent less that the average salary 
for a nurse practitioner with a master’s degree, ac-
cording to the 2007 salary survey by the journal 
ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners. 
(8) The most recent Health Resources and 
Services Administration survey data indicates that 
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from a total of more than 2 million registered 
nurses, only 143,113 registered nurses with a bach-
elor’s degree and only 51,318 registered nurses with 
an associate’s degree have continued their education 
to earn a master’s degree in the science of nursing, 
the minimum credential necessary to teach in all 
types of registered nurse programs. The majority of 
these graduates do not become nurse educators. 
(9) Current Federal incentive programs to en-
courage nurses to become educators are inadequate 
and inaccessible for many interested nurses. 
(10) A broad incentive program must be avail-
able to willing and qualified nurses that will provide 
financial support and encourage them to pursue and 
maintain a career in nursing education. 
SEC. 3. NURSE FACULTY LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 
Part E of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 297a et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 846A the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 846B. NURSE FACULTY LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Administrator of the Health Resources and 
Services Administration, may enter into an agreement 
with eligible individuals for the repayment of education 
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