Title VIII Nursing Workforce Funding Included in CARES Act 

April 09, 2020 by Alec Stone MA, MPA, Former ONS Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy

The business shutdowns and mandatory social distancing from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic brought the country’s economy to the brink. Last week, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2019 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/728) was included as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act’s comprehensive, landmark legislation. The $2 trillion aid package was geared to promote public health and boost economic confidence.  

This is the third part of what is likely to be a multipronged policy to redirect health and the economy during the pandemic. As last-minute adjustments and clarification are made to the bill, the president urged the U.S. Congress to pass it immediately, which it did, and he signed the legislation into law (https://www.lawandtheworkplace.com/2020/03/federal-coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-act-signed-into-law/) on March 27, 2020.  

What Is Title VIII?  

The bipartisan legislation continues funding for nursing workforce development programs through 2024, which are the largest source of federal funding for nursing education, increasing the number of RNs practicing in underserved communities.  

ONS has championed Title VIII, supporting its passage in December (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/two-ons-health-policy-priorities-pass-the-house-thanks-to-2019-capitol-hill-days) through the U.S. House of Representatives and advocating for the bill’s advancement in the U.S. Senate (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/title-viii-support-trumps-2021-federal-budget-ineffective-e-cigarette-ban).   

What It Includes  

Get ONS’s latest health policy news on topics such as the CARES Act at voice.ons.org/advocacy (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy)


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