NURS 501 Week 1 Legislative Letter on a Current Federal Bill Example

Reviewed by Rachel Stanton, MSN, RN · Liberty University · Updated

This NURS 501 Week 1 example is a complete legislative letter urging a member of the U.S. House to cosponsor H.R. 3593, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025. Liberty University NURS 501, the MSN health policy and ethics course, opens Module/Week 1 with this 100-point assignment: find a current federal bill relevant to nursing or health care and write a one to two page formal business letter stating your view, with an APA title page, a reference page and at least one citation. The sample is written by a nurse in Southwest Virginia, quotes what the bill would change section by section from its introduced text, ties the request to applications nursing schools turned away in 2025, and closes with one specific ask. Business letter form, not essay form, is the point of the exercise.

CourseNURS 501 Health Policy and Ethics (NURS501)
Module/Week1
AssignmentLegislative Letter on a Current Federal Bill
Paper typeFormal business letter to a member of Congress, with APA title and reference pages
Lengthabout 520 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: a one to two page business-style letter with a title page, a reference page and at least one citation
FormatAPA 7 student paper
Points100
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramMSN
Where it sitsModule/Week 1 in Liberty's published NURS 501 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for NURS 501 Week 1

1

Letter in Support of H.R. 3593, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025

 

[Student Name]

School of Nursing, Liberty University

NURS 501: Health Policy and Ethics

Legislative Letter

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

 

The writer, the hospital and the unit details are composites written for a model letter; the bill provisions are quoted from its introduced text.

Why this part earns its pointsThe title page states the bill number and position, so the grader knows the bill and the stance before reading the letter.
2

Letter in Support of H.R. 3593, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025

[Student Name], MSN Student, RN

[Street Address]

Roanoke, VA [ZIP Code]

[Date]

The Honorable [Representative's Name]

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative [Name]:

I am writing as your constituent and as a registered nurse at a regional hospital in Southwest Virginia to ask you to cosponsor H.R. 3593, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025. The bill was introduced on May 23, 2025, by Representative David Joyce of Ohio with a bipartisan group of original cosponsors that includes Representative Jen Kiggans of Virginia, and it now sits with the House Energy and Commerce Committee. It renews the federal programs that pay for much of the education behind the nurses who care for your constituents.

The bill makes three changes I believe are sound. First, it amends section 811 of the Public Health Service Act so that advanced nursing education grants may cover the costs of clinical education and preceptors, which are now among the hardest costs for graduate programs to meet. Second, it expands section 831 so that nurse education grants can fund simulation, telehealth and laboratory resources, increase the number of faculty and students, and support partnerships with hospitals, nurse-managed clinics and community health centers that create new clinical placements. Third, it raises the authorization for the core Title VIII education programs from $137,837,000 to $184,337,000 a year and the second authorization line in section 871 from $117,135,000 to $121,135,000, for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 (Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025, 2025).

These changes address a real bottleneck. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2026), schools of nursing in the United States turned away 92,672 qualified applications to baccalaureate and graduate programs in 2025 because of too few faculty, clinical sites, classroom space and clinical preceptors, along with budget limits. I see the same shortage on my own unit. Last spring our medical-surgical floor turned down two requests from a nearby nurse practitioner program because no one on staff could carry a student while caring for a full patient assignment, and the nurses who might have precepted had no protected time or pay to do it. Our hospital can host only a few graduate nursing students each term because few of our experienced nurses can take on a student without support, and the nurse practitioner students from our region often have to travel hours to find a preceptor. Paying for preceptors and clinical partnerships, as this bill allows, would let hospitals like mine train more of the nurses rural Virginia needs.

Why this part earns its pointsOne national figure and one local observation are enough for a letter; the national number gives weight and the unit example shows why it matters to this district.
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I am grateful for the work you do for the people of this district and for reading a nurse's view on a bill that may seem technical from Washington but is very practical in Roanoke. I respectfully ask you to join Representative Kiggans as a cosponsor of H.R. 3593 and to support its consideration in the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I would welcome the chance to tell your staff more about how these programs affect nursing education in our part of the Commonwealth.

Why this part earns its pointsThe ask appears in the first and last paragraphs, and the middle paragraphs give the evidence, which is the structure staffers expect in constituent mail.
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Respectfully,

[Student Name], RN

MSN Student, Liberty University

[Email Address] | [Phone Number]

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References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2026). Nursing faculty shortage [Fact sheet]. https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/fact-sheets/nursing-faculty-shortage

Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025, H.R. 3593, 119th Cong. (2025). https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3593

What the NURS 501 Week 1 instructions ask

Liberty's NURS 501 guide asks students in Module/Week 1 to search the internet for a current federal bill relevant to nursing, patient care or health care and write a one to two page formal, business-style letter expressing their views on it. The letter needs a title page and a reference page in current APA format and must be supported by at least one citation. Most instructors expect the letter to go to the student's own senator or representative, to identify the bill by number and title, to state a clear position in the opening paragraph, to support it with evidence and the writer's own professional experience, and to close with a specific request such as cosponsoring the bill or voting for it in committee.

How this NURS 501 Week 1 example is built

The letter follows business format: return address, date, the representative's office address, a formal salutation, four body paragraphs and a closing with the writer's credentials. The first paragraph names the bill, its number, its sponsor and the request to cosponsor it, so the staffer reading the mail knows the ask at once. The second paragraph explains three provisions in plain words, using the bill's own amounts for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. The third connects the bill to a fact from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and to the writer's unit, where preceptor shortages limit student placements. The last paragraph thanks the member, notes the Virginia cosponsor and repeats the ask.

NURS 501 Week 1 grading rubric: where the points go

Grading for the legislative letter in NURS 501 typically covers four areas: identification and accurate description of a current federal bill, a clearly argued position supported by evidence, professional business letter format and tone, and APA mechanics for the title page, citation and reference. Accuracy carries real weight, so quoting the bill's provisions and status from congress.gov or govinfo earns more than paraphrasing a press release. The position must be stated early and defended with at least one credible source. Format points depend on the parts of a business letter being present and in order, and on a length that fits one to two pages. Tone points reward respectful, concise writing addressed to a legislator who reads hundreds of letters.

NURS 501 Week 1 help: mistakes that cost points

Common mistakes on this assignment include choosing a bill that has already passed or died, which makes the request meaningless, and describing a bill from news coverage without reading its text. Students also write three pages of argument, forget the specific ask, or address the letter to the wrong member of Congress. Avoid emotional language and avoid partisan attacks; the letter persuades best when it is calm and factual. Check the bill's status the day you submit, give the bill number in the first paragraph, include your credentials and your connection to the issue, and place the reference in APA format on its own page after the letter.

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NURS 501 Week 1 questions, answered

What is the NURS 501 legislative letter assignment?

In Module/Week 1, students choose a current federal bill relevant to nursing or health care and write a one to two page formal business letter to a legislator stating their view, with an APA title page, reference page and at least one citation.

Where can I find a free NURS 501 Week 1 sample paper?

This page shows the NURS 501 Week 1 letter in full, a two-page request to cosponsor H.R. 3593 set out in business format with its title page, sources and margin notes, and nothing is charged to read it.

Who should I address my NURS 501 legislative letter to?

Address it to your own U.S. representative or one of your senators, since legislators weigh mail from their constituents most. Use the formal address The Honorable followed by the member's name.

How do I cite a bill in APA format?

Give the bill's title, number, Congress and year in the reference list, for example Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025, H.R. 3593, 119th Cong. (2025), followed by the congress.gov address.

How long should a legislative letter be?

Liberty's guide allows one to two pages for the letter itself, not counting the title and reference pages. Most effective letters to legislators fit on one page and make one clear request.

Use it as a model, or ask for your own

This paper is an original model written by our desk for study. It is not a submitted student paper and not an official Liberty University document. Read it for structure and reasoning, then write your own to the instructions in your Canvas course. If you want a version built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.