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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3707 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3707
To provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing
school faculty members.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 27, 2026
Mr. Durbin (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Nurse Faculty Shortage 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 follows:
``(a) In General.--To increase the number of qualified nursing
faculty, the Secretary may--
``(1) enter into an agreement with any accredited school of
nursing for the establishment and operation of a student loan
fund in accordance with subsection (b); and
``(2) award nurse faculty grants in accordance with
subsection (c).'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (D)
of paragraph (2) as clauses (i) through (iv),
respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as
subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively, and
adjusting the margins accordingly;
(C) in subparagraph (C), as so redesignated, by
striking ``subsection (c)'' and inserting ``paragraph
(2)''; and
(D) by striking ``(b) Agreements--Each agreement
entered into under subsection (a) shall--'' and
inserting the following:
``(b) School of Nursing Student Loan Fund.--
``(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 accordingly;
(C) in paragraph (6), by redesignating
subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii),
respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as
subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively, and
adjusting the margins accordingly; and
(E) in subparagraph (F)(ii), as so redesignated, by
striking ``subsection (e)'' and inserting ``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 adjusting the
margins accordingly; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Nurse Faculty Demonstration Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish and carry
out a demonstration program described 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 receive a grant
under this subsection, an entity shall--
``(A) be a school of nursing; and
``(B) submit an application to the Secretary, at
such time, in such manner, and containing 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 clinical practice,
for the most recent 3-year period ending on the
date of application, adjusted for inflation as
appropriate and broken 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 credentials, 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 period prior to
the date of application, adjusted 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 sustainably
continue, after the 3-year grant period, the
salary available to the eligible 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 nursing 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 difference between--
``(i) the average salary of nurses in
clinical practice, as submitted under subclause
(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
``(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 priority to applications
from schools of nursing that demonstrate--
``(A) the greatest need for such grant, which may
be based upon the financial circumstances of the school
of nursing, the number of eligible nurse faculty
members, the planned number of students to be trained
or admitted off a wait list;
``(B) training or partnerships to serve vulnerable
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
Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, a report
that evaluates the program established under this subsection,
including--
``(A) the impact of such program on recruitment and
retention rates of nursing faculty, as available, and
specifically for each faculty 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 member.--The term
`eligible nursing faculty member' means a nursing
faculty member who--
``(i) was hired by a school of nursing
within the 2-year period preceding the
submission of an application under paragraph
(2), or a prospective nursing faculty member;
``(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 member
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 paragraph (3) shall be
prorated relative to the 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 year 2027 through 2031.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text: CR S292-293)
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