Congress Considers Major Investment in Nursing Education as Part of Economic Recovery

This week the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes a major increase in federal funding for nurse education and training, including:

• $250 million for Department of Labor’s High Growth Job Training Initiative, which funds competitive grants to nursing schools, health facilities and others. The language gives priority to “green” jobs and health care jobs.
• $600 million directly addressing the nursing shortage and other health care workforce shortages to be used for scholarships and loan repayments under Titles VIII and VII of the Public Health Service Act. These funds could also be used to make grants to nursing schools for equipment, such as simulation equipment, which aims to increase educational capacity, a proposal specifically advanced by AARP.