# 119-s-5295: NIH Mentorship Modernization Act

119-s-5295, NIH Mentorship Modernization Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA] (R-PA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5295
- As of: 2026-08-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5295
- Congress: 119
- Title: NIH Mentorship Modernization Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-08-06
- Sponsor: Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA] (R-PA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-21

## Summary

**Minimum national mentorship standards for NIH-funded early-career researchers.** This bill would create a new Section 489A in the Public Health Service Act to set measurable mentorship expectations and a federal framework to support institutions and mentors as they implement those standards. - Early-career researchers and trainees would see clearer requirements for regular mentor-mentee engagement, career guidance, and periodic assessment of research and career progress. - Mentors would face minimum qualification and competency expectations and benefit from promoted resources like mentor training curricula, mentoring compacts, and recognition for co-mentors. - Institutions that receive NIH career development, training, fellowship, and research education awards would certify compliance through existing NIH reporting and could access supplemental funding to support mentor training, coordination, and mentorship agreements, subject to appropriations. - The NIH would build on current reporting processes, avoid duplicative requirements, review mentorship practices periodically, and apply the standards only to awards made on or after a date two years after enactment, with voluntary uptake allowed earlier.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More mentorship support for NIH trainees: benefit, low. This bill would require the HHS Secretary to set minimum mentorship standards for institutions that get NIH training, fellowship, or research awards. The standards would cover regular mentor-mentee meetings, career guidance, periodic progress checks, and mentor qualifications and competencies. Inst…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-4610: Pacific POWER Act
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-s-938: Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2025
- 119-s-2904: SHADOW Fleet Sanctions Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-5295 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5295)

## Related
- [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120)
- [119-s-4610: Pacific POWER Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4610)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541)
- [119-s-938: Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-938)
- [119-s-2904: SHADOW Fleet Sanctions Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2904)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5295 (as of 2026-08-21).