Senator Markey and Rep. Stansbury Introduce Bill to Revitalize Nursing Workforce

WASHINGTON–Today, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.-01) introduced the Public Health Nursing Act in the House. This legislation, akin to its Senate counterpart introduced by Senator Edward Markey (D-MA), aims to address the public health crisis through revitalizing and sustaining a robust public health nursing workforce in the United States. The legislation would be a monumental step in addressing the healthcare staffing shortage, authorizing $5 billion annually over the course of 10 years to create a grant program through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for state, local, and Tribal public health departments to recruit, hire, train, pay, and retain licensed registered nurses.

“The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the cracks in the foundation of our public health infrastructure, and it's long past time we build it back up,” said Senator Markey. “This requires investing in our health care workforce. The Public Health Nursing Act will invest in the future of public health in this country by authorizing funding for public health departments to recruit, hire, train and pay licensed registered nurses. We must act now to ensure the health, safety, and resiliency of our communities for years to come.” 

“Nurses are chronically overworked, underpaid, and understaffed,” said Congresswoman Stansbury. “It’s way past time we overhaul our healthcare system to prioritize the needs of our nurses. The Public Health Nursing Act is a crucial step towards creating a healthy, fruitful future for both our communities as well as our public health workers. This legislation will help us rebuild and sustain a robust public health nursing workforce. By addressing critical aspects such as collective bargaining rights and safeguards against displacing existing investments in public health nursing, in addition to funding, this bill provides a robust response to the nursing shortage we are facing today.”

The legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Gwen Moore, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jesús "Chuy" García, Delia Ramirez, Robert Garcia, Yadira Caraveo, Jill Tokuda, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Maxine Waters, Ilhan Omar, Steve Cohen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Judy Chu, Barbara Lee, Pramila Jayapal, Ayanna Pressley, and Cori Bush.

“Nurses are essential staff in every healthcare facility, including those I worked in for more than a decade as a pediatrician. But the combined effects of the pandemic and underinvestment in public health have left Colorado with a shortage of 9,000 qualified nurses. That means longer wait times and higher medical bills for our families,” said Congresswoman Caraveo. “As a doctor and an elected official, I am proud to help rebuild our broken public health infrastructure by supporting the Public Health Nursing Act. This long overdue investment in our nursing workforce is an important step to supporting the healthcare workforce and improving health outcomes in Colorado and across the country.”

“Public health nurses can play a crucial role in building equity into our health care system, addressing disparities, understanding local health trends, and supporting proactive disease prevention efforts,” said Congresswoman Moore. “ I am thrilled to join this legislation to strengthen the public health nursing workforce, which will help better meet the needs and emerging challenges of our communities.”

“Nurses are the backbone of a strong healthcare system and are especially vital for a robust public health infrastructure,” said Congresswoman Lee. “But they are chronically overburdened and, too often, their teams are understaffed. It’s past time we invest in the people that make up the foundations of the American public healthcare system—and this bill will do that through a funding program to maintain and grow the employment of public health nurses. I’m proud to join Rep. Stansbury and Senator Markey on this important issue.”

The legislation is supported by the National Nurses United (NNU), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

“The public health nursing workforce has drastically declined in recent years due to decades of systemic underfunding of our public health programs,” said LaKisha Little-Smalls, RN, Vice-President of National Nurses United and President of the District of Columbia Nurses Association. “For decades, communities across our country, especially communities of color and rural communities, have experienced the negative consequences of an ill-equipped public health infrastructure. The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the need to strengthen our national public health programs and responses. RNs have unique educational training, clinical experience, and licensing which are sorely needed in public health programming. In order to build the robust and comprehensive public health workforce that our communities need, it’s important to specifically invest in increasing the number of registered nurses (RNs) in this workforce. National Nurses United strongly endorses Congresswoman Stansbury’s legislation to invest in and expand the public health nursing workforce and encourages the House to advance this legislation.”

“Our country’s public healthcare infrastructure keeps families and communities safe and healthy, both in times of crisis, and in their daily lives,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Healthcare workers, overall, were already on the brink prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now, they’re struggling even more, facing the ongoing corporatization of hospitals that prioritize profits over people, and extremist politicians hellbent on slashing benefits and turning back the clock to a time when healthcare was a privilege reserved only for the wealthy few. The Public Health Nursing Act aims to begin to right these wrongs by investing in our public healthcare infrastructure to make sure it's well-equipped to care for the sick, aging, and injured, offering specific grants to agencies that prioritize their healthcare workforce and offer them a voice on the job through a union. As the fastest growing healthcare union in the country, the AFT sees first-hand how important that voice in the workplace is for nurses and health professionals, and how much it impacts patient care.”

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