Health Care – Capitol Beat

From the Bedside to the Capitol: ANA Hill Day 2026

Nurses from across the country will gather in Washington, D.C. for the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) 2026 Capitol Hill Day this month to advocate for federal nursing priorities. After a policy briefing, they will meet with lawmakers to highlight the below issues affecting nurses and patient care.

Fight for Fair Graduate Student Aid

In May, the U.S. Department of Education finalized a rule classifying post-baccalaureate nursing programs as “graduate programs”, reducing borrowing limits for nursing students to $20,500 annually and $100,000 lifetime, compared with $50,000 and $250,000 for “professional degree” students. This is especially harmful for nursing students in accelerated programs who may hit borrowing caps before finishing their degrees.

Nurse advocates will urge lawmakers to support the Nursing Is a Professional Degree Act (H.R. 8691/S. 4568) to ensure that nursing students qualify for the higher graduate loan limits and support a Congressional Review Act resolution (H. J. Res. 189/S.J.Res.196) to repeal the rule. The adoption of these policies would ensure equitable access to federal financial aid and strengthen our nursing workforce.

Protect Nurses from Workplace Violence

Workplace violence is a major threat, with 75% of the nearly 25,000 workplace assaults reported each year occurring in health care and social service settings. One in four nurses reports being assaulted in their workplace. In fact, nurses are more likely to be victims of workplace violence than police officers or prison guards. The cost to the U.S. healthcare system exceeds $151 billion per year, not including the hidden costs of trauma, burnout, and attrition that drive nurses out of the profession.

The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 2531/S. 1232) would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue standards that healthcare employers would use to develop workplace violence prevention plans to protect their clinicians and patients. It would ensure that nurses and other direct-care workers help develop and implement those plans. The bill also protects nurses who report workplace violence. Nurse advocates will urge lawmakers to co-sponsor this critical legislation and take a concrete step toward ensuring nurses can care for their patients without fearing for their own safety.

Break Down Barriers Facing APRNs

Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) now provide more than half of all primary care for Medicare patients, and decades of research demonstrate that they provide safe, high-quality care. Yet, federal law still requires unnecessary physician oversight and limits APRN practice.

The bipartisan Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act (H.R. 1317/S. 575) would remove outdated Medicare and Medicaid barriers that prevent APRNs from practicing to the full extent of their education and training. The measure notably does not supersede any state laws or alter APRNs’ scope of practice and has support from over 260 organizations.

ANA advocates will urge lawmakers to support the ICAN Act to expand access to quality care for patients — particularly those in rural and underserved communities — while empowering APRNs who are already proving every day that they are more than capable of meeting that need.

Invest in Nursing Education and Training

The Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs are the only dedicated federal investment in nursing education, practice, and retention — yet they receive just $305.472 million compared to the $17.8 billion in mandatory federal spending directed toward graduate medical education. Last reauthorized in 2020, Title VIII programs supported more than 24,000 nurses, nursing students, and grantees in FY 2025 alone, helping to chip away at our nation’s nursing workforce shortage.

Nurse advocates will ask their lawmakers to fund the Title VIII programs at a minimum of $610 million in FY 2027, and to pass the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3593/S. 1874) to reauthorize the programs through FY 2030 — ensuring the pipeline of qualified nurses remains strong and that patients across the country continue to have access to high-quality care.

Call to Action

While registration for ANA’s 2026 Hill Day has closed, you can still make your voice heard. ANA is organizing a virtual day of action to coincide with Hill Day on 6/25 to amplify the message being shared by nurses on Capitol Hill.

Mark your calendars and be on the lookout for an RN Action Alert on June 25!

Regulation 101: How Nurses Can Shape Policy

Advocating for a bill gets all the attention—thanks, Schoolhouse Rock—but the real action starts after a bill becomes law. Once the ink is dry, someone must figure out how that law will actually work in the real world.

That’s where regulation comes in.

Federal agencies take the laws passed by Congress, analyze them, interpret them, and translate them into detailed regulations—the practical roadmap for implementation. If a law is the diagnosis, regulation is the care plan.

Regulatory advocacy is your chance to shape that care plan. It’s the process of informing and influencing agencies as they develop, implement, and enforce the rules that bring laws to life.

And the best part: it’s one of the most direct, accessible ways to participate in public policy.

If you want proof that regulation matters, look at the Affordable Care Act. Congress passed a bill of a few hundred pages, but the real work—and thousands of pages of regulations—came from giving meaning to the 1,442 times the law directed “the Secretary of HHS” to implement the bill Congress had passed.

The Regulatory Cycle

Every agency has its own peculiarities when it comes to the process of issuing regulations, but the regulatory process follows a predictable rhythm. This article breaks down the key steps, shows you how to craft effective comments, and explains why nurses—because of their training, experience, and frontline perspective—are uniquely powerful regulatory advocates.

Once an agency finishes its research and drafts a regulation, it must alert the public through a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The proposal, referred to as a proposed rule, is posted in the Federal Register, opening a public comment period. Comment periods vary from 30 to 60 days—where anyone can weigh in. After the comment window closes, the agency reviews the feedback, makes revisions, counts every comment and weighs the input to issue a final rule. That final rule is published in the Federal Register and added to the agency’s docket on Regulations.gov.

When a rule is finalized, it’s then codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)—the official, organized record of all federal regulations. The CFR is divided into 50 titles, each covering a major subject area. Most health care regulations live in Title 45, and the entire CFR is updated on a rolling annual schedule.

How to Track Regulations

If a rule is open for public comment, you’ll find it on Regulations.gov. That’s where you can submit your own comments and read what others have already posted (yes—every comment is public). If you want to follow an agency’s progress on a regulation, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) lets you track rules by agency and see where they are in the process.

Regulations can be long, but you don’t have to read every word.

Most NPRMs follow a predictable structure: instructions for submitting comments, a table of contents, background, a summary of the proposal, an analysis of its impact, technical details, and finally the actual regulatory text. If you want to see what’s changing, skip straight to the end.

Each notice also lists staff who can answer questions. They’re there for a reason—reach out.

How to Write a Regulatory Comment

Writing a regulatory comment is a lot like writing a SOAP note—you’re sharing who you are, what you see, and what you recommend, backed by real‑world experience and solid evidence. Comments can come from individuals or groups, and there’s no “right” length or format. What matters most is clarity, authenticity, and a strong point of view. Use this roadmap to craft an effective advocacy message:

Introduce yourself.
Briefly describe your professional background and relevant experience. Include credentials if you have them, and an email address if you choose. Skip anything confidential—no patient details or identifying information.

Be specific about what you’re responding to.
Name the exact section of the proposed rule you’re addressing and state your position clearly. Keep the issue front and center.

Use real‑world examples and impact.
Personal stories bring your perspective to life. They show how a policy affects people, workplaces, and systems—and making the emotional connect help connect with the reviewer.

Include evidence.
Data, citations, news articles and research strengthen your argument and show you’ve thought through the issue from multiple angles.

Offer or support solutions or alternatives.
Suggest solutions or highlight approaches that already work that the agency may have done. It is valuable to recognize the work being done as springboard to new regulation. You can also endorse ideas raised in other comments.

Educate.
Assume the reviewer has no clinical background. This is your chance to explain nursing practice and why your perspective matters.

Review before submitting.
Check for typos, clarity, and tone. Use professional language, spell out acronyms, and add subheadings if your comment is long.

Rebuilding America’s Nursing Workforce—Title VIII Programs

America continues to face a geographic nursing workforce shortage, particularly in rural and medically underserved communities.

Inadequate staffing tends to have an adverse, ripple effect on the nursing workforce and the ability of healthcare facilities to provide timely, high-quality healthcare services. One solution to this staffing crisis is for policymakers to continue to invest in nursing education by supporting the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs.

There will be about 194,500 openings for registered nurses (RNs) annually through 2033 due to nurse retirements and other workforce exits.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

What are the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs?

The Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs represent the only dedicated federal programs addressing all aspects of nursing workforce development, including education, practice, and retention. These programs are administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Here is an overview of the Title VIII Programs:

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAM – The Advanced Nursing Education Program helps support advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) students so they may practice in rural and underserved settings. This program also focuses on increasing nurses in primary care through traineeships opportunities.

NURSING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY PROGRAM – The Nursing Workforce Diversity Program increases nursing education opportunities for students underrepresented in the profession by supporting career advancement for nurses with diplomas to become baccalaureate prepared registered nurses (RNs) or graduate-prepared advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).

NURSE EDUCATION, PRACTICE, QUALITY AND RETENTION PROGRAM – The Nursing Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Program focuses on national nursing needs and strengthens nursing workforce capacity.

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM – The Nurse Faculty Loan Program works to increase the number of qualified nurse educators by awarding funds to institutions that provide student loans to graduate students willing to serve as faculty upon graduation.

NURSE CORPS SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAMS – The Nurse Corps Scholarship Program awards scholarships to individuals who are enrolled or accepted in a school of nursing, in exchange for service of at least two years in a Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) after graduation. The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program assists in the recruitment and retention of RNs and APRNs to work in CSFs or as faculty in nursing schools by providing these nurses with loan repayment benefits.

Importance of Reauthorizing the Title VIII Nursing Programs

The Title VIII Programs were last reauthorized in 2020 as part of the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for a period of five years. Anticipating the need to reauthorize these critical programs, the American Nurses Association (ANA) and its allies in the nursing community worked with a bipartisan group of congressional champions to introduce the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3593 / S. 1874). Both bills have garnered bipartisan support on Capitol Hill.

In fact, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing earlier this year to examine H.R. 3593. Unfortunately, the federal government shutdown slowed down momentum for moving this bill and authorization for the programs expired on October 1^st. Without the passage of this bill, the Title VIII Programs are at risk for losing congressional funding and being eliminated altogether. Our team continues to advocate for reauthorization during ongoing conversations with key Leadership and committee staff on both sides of the aisle.

Congressional Funding is Critical to Expand Nursing Workforce

Despite making up the largest sector of the healthcare workforce at over 5 million nurses, congressional support for nursing workforce development currently stands at $305.472 million in discretionary spending under the current continuing resolution which is in effect until January 30, 2026. This amount pales in comparison to the $17.8 billion in mandatory funding that Congress provides to graduate medical education. Unfortunately, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a healthcare spending bill that would provide $303.472 million for the Title VIII Programs in Fiscal Year 2026. The measure proposes a $2 million haircut to the Nursing Workforce Diversity Program.

Even worse, the House Appropriations Committee took a machete to the Title VIII Programs by proposing to cut these programs by $47 million. Specifically, the bill would eliminate funding for the Nursing Workforce Diversity Program and the Nurse Faculty Loan Program. The adoption of the House bill would make it harder for our nation to attract talented nurse faculty to educate the next generation of nurses. It would also make it more difficult for our nation to attract a nursing workforce that meets the needs of all Americans. Consequently, ANA and its nursing allies are now requesting that Congress provide at least $303.472 million for the Title VIII Programs in FY 2026 by adopting the Senate’s healthcare spending bill.

How You Can Help Protect Nursing Education

There are plenty of ways that nursing advocates can help ANA protect the Title VIII Programs and nursing education. The easiest way is to reach out to your members of Congress to ask for their support for reauthorization and funding for these vital programs by visiting RNAction.org. Nursing advocates can also schedule meetings with their lawmakers and their staff in their district offices during constituent work periods. Visit ANA’s In-District webpage that share tips for scheduling and executing these meetings. Finally, ANA members can join the Nurses Action Society if they would like to leverage their existing relationships with federal lawmakers or would like to develop relationships with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.