OME Advocate Newsletter

Today is the sixth day that the government has been shut down after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement before the September 30, 2025 deadline. Last week, the Senate rejected the House’s clean seven-week continuing resolution (CR), H.R. 5371, in a 55-45 vote. Three Democrats/Independents—Senators John Fetterman (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Angus King (I-ME)—voted in favor of the CR, while Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Republican to vote no. Senators also voted 47-53 against a competing Democratic proposal that would fund the government through October 31, extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies and reverse $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts. The Senate is in session this week and the House is not expected to return until October 14. Work in the Senate continues, with Committees holding hearings, markups and nomination meetings. On the floor, the Senate will move forward with consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act, their second tranche of en bloc nominations and additional votes again on the House passed short term funding bill.

Federal agencies are implementing contingency plans, with about 750,000 employees furloughed and “excepted” staff required to work without pay until funding is restored. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the lapse will cost agencies roughly $400 million per day. Mandatory programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and federal student aid programs continue to operate, as do national security and public safety functions, while many public-facing services—including national parks, museums and research grant activity—are shuttered or delayed.

Contingency Plans Important for OME:

• Department of Education
• Department of Health and Human Services

A path forward remains unclear, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying there is “nothing to negotiate,” while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer countered that “the ball is in their court.”

Thanks to osteopathic advocates who took action during AACOM Advocacy Day 2025, congressional support for both the Fair Access In Residency (FAIR) Act, H.R. 2314 / S. 2715, and the Community Training, Education, and Access for Medical Students (Community TEAMS) Act, H.R. 3885, continues to grow. Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) and Representatives Tim Burchett (R-TN), Ben Cline (R-VA), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) and John McGuire (R-VA) signed on as FAIR Act cosponsors. Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Don Davis (D-NC), Eugene Vindman (D-VA), April McClain Delaney (D-MD), Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) cosponsored the Community TEAMS Act.

Both bipartisan pieces of legislation are critical to addressing healthcare workforce shortages and your voice helps move them forward! There is still time to tell Congress to promote DO graduate medical education parity through the FAIR Act and expand community-based clinical rotations with the Community TEAMS Act. Use the buttons below to send messages directly to your elected officials and join hundreds of advocates making a real difference for DO students across the country.

FAIR Act Community TEAMS Act

• On September 30, 2025, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Health Care Workforce Expansion Act to address the shortage of doctors, dentists and nurses across the country.
• The legislation would make nonprofit medical school tuition free for students who commit to practicing primary care for at least 10 years and provide more than $5 billion in grants to medical, nursing and dental schools to increase enrollment, recruit and retain faculty and modernize facilities.
• The bill would also support physician training and practice by creating more than 50,000 new slots for the Medicare Graduate Medical Education program, with 30 percent allocated to primary care and 15 percent to psychiatry residencies, expand the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program by adding 15,000 new community-based primary care residency positions and provide $20,000 relocation grants to doctors, dentists and nurses who agree to practice in rural communities.
• AACOM has endorsed the Health Care Workforce Expansion Act, though prospects for movement in the current Congress appear limited. View the bill text and fact sheet for more information.

• The U.S. Department of Education (ED) convened its Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) negotiated rulemaking committee. Nine primary negotiators are discussing changes to federal student aid provisions related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), P.L. 119-21.
• The OBBBA set different loan limits for graduate and professional programs, but ED allows for adding degrees to the professional program list through the rulemaking process. The DO degree is designated as a professional degree.
• ED confirmed the July 1, 2026 effective date, despite plans to publish a final rule after November 1, 2025. Further, the committee intends to remain in-person this week in the midst of a government shutdown.
• For more information about the committee sessions, read the summary from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.