Bill would bolster numbers of foreign nurses, physicians

Congressional members reintroduced an AONL-  and American Hospital Association-supported bill to address the ongoing nurse and physician shortage. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., introduced the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (H.R. 5283 /S. 2759). The bill would recapture green cards previously authorized by Congress that were unused. The legislation would allot up to 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for physicians. The bill requires employers to attest that individuals who receive the visas will not displace American employees. Eligible foreign medical professionals must also meet licensing requirements, pay filing fees, and clear national security and criminal history background checks before they can receive recaptured visas. (Sen. Durbin news release, 9/18/25).