The list of health professions grants for FY 2007 is now available! See a full list of Title VII grants by state for FYs 2005, 2006, and 2007 and compare state totals before and after the enacted 51.5 percent cut to Title VII in FY 2006.

NEW! HPNEC submitted written testimony (PDF, 5 pages) concerning FY 2009 funding of Title VII and VIII programs to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

NEW! Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Pat Roberts led an April 4 letter (PDF, 3 pages) to Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), urging restored funding to the Title VII programs. A total of 49 Senators signed the letter.

Another April 4 letter (PDF, 4 pages) to the Subcommittee leadership was organized by Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) regarding Title VIII funding. That letter was signed by 52 Senators.

NEW! In a March 14 letter (PDF, 10 pages) to the House Appropriations and Labor-HHS Subcommittee Chair David Obey (D-Wis.) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim Walsh (R-N.Y.), 131 Representatives call for restored funding to the Title VII programs. The letter was organized by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.).

A March 19 letter to House appropriators was organized by Reps. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) regarding Title VIII funding.

The FY 2009 HPNEC Brochure (PDF, 6 pages) is available! Contact Tannaz Rasouli at trasouli@aamc.org for copies.

The Bush Administration released its FY 2009 budget on February 4. The budget proposes eliminating funding for all Title VII programs. For Title VIII, the budget requests $110 million, a $46 million (29.6 percent) cut; the Title VIII figure includes a proposed elimination of the Advanced Education Nursing program and proposed increases for the Nursing Education Loan Repayment and Scholarship Program and the Nursing Faculty Loan Program. An updated funding chart compares the President's proposed FY 2009 figures to the levels enacted in FYs 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

HPNEC issued a statement in response to the President's proposal.

On February 7, 2008, HPNEC hosted a Health Professions Leadership Congressional Briefing and Open House. The distinguished panel of speakers included 16th U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., who discussed the vital role that Title VII & VIII play in improving the supply, distribution, and diversity of the health professions workforce. After the briefing, health professionals representing the full range of Title VII & VIII programs welcomed their Congressional delegations and other interested parties to an Open House on the programs.

As part of our effort to restore cuts to the programs, HPNEC is asking affected programs to forward information documenting the impact of these severe cuts on their providers, patients and communities. Please send examples and data to Tannaz Rasouli at trasouli@aamc.org.

HPNEC Background

The Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC) is an informal alliance of more than 70 organizations representing a variety of schools, programs, health professionals and students dedicated to educating professional health personnel. Together, the members of HPNEC advocate for adequate and continued support for the health professions and nursing education programs authorized under Titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act. The members of the Coalition believe these programs are essential to the development and training of tomorrow's health professionals and are critical to providing continued health services to underserved and minority communities.

For more information on HPNEC activities or how to join, please contact Tannaz Rasouli, trasouli@aamc.org, HPNEC Director, (202) 828-0525.