# 119-hr-6989: Public Health Nursing Act

119-hr-6989, Public Health Nursing Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-02).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6989
- As of: 2026-10-02
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-6989
- Congress: 119
- Title: Public Health Nursing Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Sponsor: Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM)
- Cosponsors: 15
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-02

## Summary

**Expands the public health nursing workforce** by funding grants to state, local, and territorial health departments to hire and deploy registered nurses in medically underserved and high-need areas. Grants pay for hiring, training, medical supplies including personal protective equipment, and related administrative costs. - Families, infants, and mothers: Targets areas with high rates of chronic disease, infant mortality, or maternal morbidity and directs nurses to provide prenatal, postpartum, preventive, and chronic care in homes and clinics. - Local health departments and services: Creates grants and allows subgrants to support deployments to health professional shortage areas, mobile health clinics, acute care hospitals, and home visitation programs. - Nurses and workforce protections: Funds recruitment and training of licensed registered nurses and requires applicants to either have collective bargaining agreements or a policy not to interfere with National Labor Relations Act rights. *Authorizes $5 billion per year from 2026 through 2035, increasing federal spending to support the program.*

## Cosponsors (15)

- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2026-01-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (D-WA), 2026-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10] (D-FL), 2026-01-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2026-01-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5] (D-MN), 2026-01-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42] (D-CA), 2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL), 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6] (D-MD), 2026-04-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Walkinshaw, James R. [D-VA-11] (D-VA), 2026-04-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7] (D-MD), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Julie [D-TX-32] (D-TX), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43] (D-CA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More public health nurses hired: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would create a Public Health Nursing Workforce Program run by the Department of Health and Human Services. The program would get $5 billion each year for fiscal years 2026 through 2035. Grants would go to state, local, and territorial public health departments to recruit, hire,…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-6989 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6989)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2086)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6989 (as of 2026-10-02).