# 119-s-4568: Nursing is a Professional Degree Act

119-s-4568, Nursing is a Professional Degree Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4568
- As of: 2026-07-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4568
- Congress: 119
- Title: Nursing is a Professional Degree Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-19
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-17

## Summary

**Recognizes nursing as a federal 'professional degree'.** This bill would add nursing to the Higher Education Act's enumerated list of professional degrees and create a clear statutory definition that ties professional degrees to licensure and a level of skill beyond a bachelor's degree. - Nursing students and graduates: Master's and doctoral nursing credentials such as MSN, DNP, DNAP, and Ph.D. in nursing would be explicitly listed as professional degrees in the law. - Colleges and nursing programs: Nursing degrees would be named alongside law, medicine, and pharmacy in the statute, giving clearer statutory recognition for those programs. - U.S. Department of Education: The Education Secretary would be authorized to designate other degrees that meet the new definition as professional degrees.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (R-MS), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] (R-ME), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2026-06-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2026-06-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Nursing counted as professional degree: benefit, low. This bill would add a statutory definition of "professional degree" in the Higher Education Act. It would remove the current cross-reference to 34 C.F.R. § 668.2. It would define a professional degree as a program that shows completion of academic requirements for beginning professional practice an…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.

## Sources
- [119-s-4568 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4568)

## Related
- [119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2296)
- [119-s-4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4784)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1261)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4568 (as of 2026-07-17).