US Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Todd Young (R-IN), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced in March 2021 the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, a stopgap healthcare proposal to recapture previously unused visas for qualified international nurses to help meet the unprecedented challenges facing the US healthcare system.
The HWRA would recapture and reallocate 25,000 previously issued but unused immigrant visas for nurses and another 15,000 for doctors. All clinicians would be required to pass licensure and English language exams, have a spotless overseas record, and have graduated from an equivalent international medical program.
The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act is supported by dozens of organizations including