While Trump Administration Pushes Make America Sick Agenda, Senator Markey, Rep. Stansbury Reintroduce Legislation to Bolster and Maintain Public Health Nursing Infrastructure

Public Health Nursing Act Authorizes $5 Billion to Boost Workforce

Bill Text (PDF)

Washington (January 9, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, and Representative Melanie Stansbury (NM-01) today reintroduced the Public Health Nursing Act, legislation that would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to bolster and sustain a comprehensive public health nursing workforce. Specifically, the Public Health Nursing Act would authorize $5 billion annually over ten years to establish a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant program for state, local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments to recruit, hire, train, and pay licensed registered nurses.

Public health interventions and preventive medicine have doubled life expectancy in the United States over the past 200 years. Most of this progress is due to the leadership of public health nurses who have improved marginalized communities' health and social conditions through people-oriented, preventive health care. However, U.S. public health infrastructure has repeatedly faced budget cuts, leading to decades of disinvestment and a lack of U.S. public health preparedness, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"While the Trump administration is hell-bent on dismantling our country's public health system, the American people, including unserved and underserved communities, are unfairly paying the price," said Senator Markey. "Donald Trump and RFK Jr.'s 'Make America Sick Agenda' is straining our public health infrastructure-and health workers are bearing the brunt of this crisis. We must build a strong and resilient public health foundation that invests in the nurses who care for our communities. The Public Health Nursing Act is a necessary first step, allowing us to support the health and wellness of our communities and make our public health infrastructure able to meet the challenges we will continue to face under this administration."

"Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system," said Representative Stansbury. "It's way past time to overhaul our healthcare system and prioritize the needs of our communities and the healthcare work force. The Public Health Nursing Act is a crucial step toward addressing the healthcare shortage in New Mexico and across the country, by rebuilding and sustaining a robust public health nursing workforce and investing in the people and caregivers that make it happen."

The legislation was co-sponsored by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Representative Gwen Moore (WI-04).

Specifically, the Public Health Nursing Act would infuse the U.S. public health system with ten years of funding to:

1. Recruit, hire, and train licensed registered nurses to support community health in a public health setting;
2. Prioritize deploying public health nurses to support populations with high rates of chronic disease, infant mortality, or maternal morbidity and mortality, low-income populations, health professional shortage areas, regions with a shortage of maternity health care professionals, and rural or traditionally underserved populations;
3. Protect collective bargaining rights; and,
4. Ensure that funds are used to expand and not displace investments in public health nursing.

"Our nation's public health infrastructure is a lifeline for families and communities, protecting us in moments of crisis and supporting our health every day," said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. "But it's being hollowed out by the same playbook used by corporate, profit-first actors that's taken hold across healthcare: staffing cuts, outsourced services, and systems designed to prioritize revenue over care. Now politicians are piling on-attacking vaccines, slashing research, and stripping public health agencies of the workforce they need to prevent disease and respond to emergencies, putting all of us at risk. The Public Health Nursing Act begins to rebuild what's been weakened; it strengthens the agencies communities depend on by making specific investments in the workforce and giving workers a real voice on the job through their union. As the fastest-growing healthcare union in the country, the AFT witnesses daily that when nurses and health professionals have a say, patients receive better care. Strengthening public health means empowering the workers who do the hard work day in and day out-and this legislation does just that."

"Instead of investing in our nation's public health infrastructure to meet the demands of our communities, we have continued to witness the decimation of our health care system due to the Republican-led Congress and Trump administration's cuts to public health programs and agencies. It's unconscionable. National Nurses United applauds the reintroduction of the Public Health Nursing Act as one of many actions we need Congress to take to protect our patients." said Mary Turner, RN, President of National Nurses United.

"We're fighting for a healthcare system that treats workers with dignity and gives patients the care they deserve. After Republicans in Congress gutted healthcare funding to give tax breaks to billionaires, nurses are being pushed to the breaking point - underpaid, understaffed and burned out. SEIU supports the Public Health Nursing Act because it's a concrete step to rebuild our public healthcare system by investing in the nurses our communities depend on," said Leslie Frane, Executive Vice President, SEIU.

"Public health nurses have historically been a reliable force for protecting and improving the health of communities across the nation. The drastic underinvestment in the public health nursing workforce in recent years has weakened our ability to address the critical health issues we face today, including communicable disease, chronic disease, maternal-child health, mental health, and more. The Public Health Nursing Act recognizes the unique and essential role of public health nurses in preventing disease and improving health for everyone, everywhere," said Shirley Orr, Executive Director of the Association of Public Health Nurses.

The Public Health Nursing Act is endorsed by American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Nurses United (NNU), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN).

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