Two bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives that aim to tackle the forecasted nurse shortage.
The latest bill, introduced by Rep. Don Beyer on July 22, is called the National Urgent Recruitment for Skilled Employees (NURSE) Visa Act. The act will create 20,000 nonimmigrant visas per fiscal year to employ nurses in areas where there is a workforce shortage and in facilities where there is a provider-to-patient staffing ratio.
"My bill, the NURSE Visa Act, would bolster the nursing workforce by allowing qualified foreign nurses to fill these gaps and ensuring that hospitals and clinics remain adequately staffed to maintain the high standards of care that Americans expect and deserve," Mr. Beyer said in a July 22 news release.
On May 9, Reps. Haley Stevens and Dave Joyce reintroduced a bill that would create a federal grant program for nursing schools to stand up or expand accelerated degree programs geared toward individuals with an undergraduate degree in another field.
The legislation would authorize $10 million per year in grants for nursing schools to create, expand and support accelerated nursing degree programs. The funds can also be used to hire and retain nurse faculty, expand clinical training sites and offer financial support to students.
A Health Workforce Analysis projected a shortage of 350,540 full-time registered nurses in 2026.