[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 124 (Thursday, September 26, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9427-S9428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself and Mr. Stevens):
  S. 3008. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand 
the loan forgiveness and loan cancellation programs for teachers, to 
provide loan forgiveness and loan cancellation programs for nurses, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today I, along with my good friend from 
Alaska, Senator Stevens, am introducing legislation that will help 
bolster two critical components of Iowa's and the Nation's economic 
future: healthcare and education.
  Across Iowa and America, we face a critical and worsening shortage of 
nurses and teachers. By 2010 there will be a shortage of 725,000 
nurses. By 2020, that shortage will increase to 1.2 million as the baby 
boomers begin to retire and need more care.
  It's much the same case for teachers. In Iowa, 40 percent of our 
teachers will be eligible to retire in the next 10 years. And 17 
percent of Iowa first year teachers leave the classroom after only one 
year. This is almost twice the national average. We'll need more than 2 
million teachers nationwide just to replace the teachers that retire or 
leave the profession.
  Clearly, a shortage of nurses or teachers will have a profound impact 
on the quality of education for our children and the quality of health 
care for every Iowan. We have to do more to attract young people to 
these difficult yet rewarding careers.
  One reason young people aren't taking on teaching or nursing is 
because they're buried in college loan debt. According to the ``Burden 
of Borrowing'', a report by the United States Public Interest Research 
Group, 64 percent of students graduated in 1999-2000 with Federal 
education loan debt. Further, the average student loan debt has nearly 
doubled over the past eight years to $16,928. Young people simply can't 
pursue careers that are critical to Iowa's and America's future because 
their college debt causes them to enter into unmanageable repayment 
plans.
  Earlier this year, I spoke with college students from schools across 
central Iowa. Many of these students will walk away from college with a 
diploma in one hand and a $20,000 student loan bill in the other. When 
students loan debt keeps our kids from becoming Iowa's next teachers 
and nurses there's something very wrong with America's priorities.
  That's why I, along with my good friend from Alaska, Senator Stevens, 
am introducing a plan to offer up to $17,500 of loan forgiveness to 
students who go into teaching or nursing for at least 5 years. Under 
our plan, students would get needed relief from loan debt and Iowa and 
America would get its next generation of nurses and teachers. That's a 
good investment in education, health care, and our nation's future.
  I think we've got a good chance of moving this proposal forward. 
President Bush has proposed a similar plan aimed just at teachers in a 
few subject areas. However, I am aware that school districts throughout 
the United States are faced with problems attracting and retaining 
teachers in more than just the areas of special education, math and 
science. Since the White House has embraced the general approach, I am 
hopeful they'll also support our broader plan for teachers and nurses. 
It's a common sense proposal that's focused on Iowa and America's 
future.
  I ask unanimous consent that letters of support for our legislation 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


                                  American Nurses Association,

                                  Washington, DC, August 30, 2002.
     Hon. Tom Harkin,
     Hart Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Harkin: I write on behalf of the American 
     Nurses Association (ANA) to express gratitude and support for 
     your intent

[[Page S9428]]

     to introduce legislation to provide loan forgiveness and loan 
     cancellation programs for registered nurses.
       ANA is the only full-service association representing the 
     nation's registered nurses through its 54 constituent member 
     nurse associations. The ANA represents registered nurses of 
     all educational preparation in all practice settings.
       ANA supports your legislation because it aims to address 
     the impending nursing shortage. This shortage is projected to 
     soon reach crisis proportions, just as the baby boom 
     population begins to place great demands on the health care 
     system.
       A reason for the emerging nurse shortage is a decreasing 
     number of young people entering the nursing profession. As 
     you may well be aware, enrollments in nursing programs have 
     dropped by 17 percent since 1995. Current projections show 
     that the number of nurses per capita will fall 20 percent 
     below requirements by 2020. Your legislation will help 
     reverse the trend and encourage entry into the profession.
       As nurses are the largest single group of health care 
     professionals in America, the nurse shortage threatens the 
     very fabric of our health care delivery system. An adequately 
     prepared and supported nursing workforce is essential for the 
     health of our nation.
       ANA thanks you for your strong support of nursing issues 
     and for introducing this important legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Rose Gonzalez,
     Director, Government Affairs.
                                  ____

                                             Americans for Nursing


                                              Shortage Relief,

                                                  August 19, 2002.
     Hon. Tom Harkin,
     Hart Senate Office Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Ted Stevens,
     Hart Senate Office Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Harkin and Stevens: The undersigned members 
     of the ANSR Alliance (Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief) 
     strongly support your draft bill to amend the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 and increase nursing education loan 
     opportunities within the Department of Education. As 
     delineated in the bill, this positive move to bring more 
     individuals into the nursing profession and support the 
     creation of nurse educators will be accomplished through loan 
     cancellation and forgiveness after five years of service in a 
     clinical setting or at an accredited school of nursing. We 
     greatly appreciate your understanding of the need for 
     multiple programs throughout the federal government to 
     alleviate the critical nursing shortage that is facing us 
     today and which will continue to do so unless we stem its 
     growth.
       A key issue in ensuring public access to high quality 
     nursing services is the growing faculty shortage and 
     implications for the preparation of new nursing 
     professionals. The median age of nurse faculty is 52 years 
     old, and the impending retirement of seasoned faculty over 
     the next decade will significantly impact the ability of 
     schools and universities to sustain quality nursing 
     educational programs that prepare an adequate supply of 
     nurses to meet the Nation's needs. The educational incentives 
     described in the proposed legislation hold promise as 
     effective tools to insure monies are available to train 
     critically needed nurse faculty.
       The ANSR Alliance thanks you for your commitment to 
     advancing an innovative solution to help alleviate the 
     nursing shortage in the United States. We look forward to 
     working with you to ensure passage of this important piece of 
     legislation.
           Sincerely yours,
       American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing.
       American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
       American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
       American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
       American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
       American College of Nurse-Midwives.
       American College of Nurse Practitioners.
       American Nephrology Nurses Association.
       American Organization of Nurse Executives.
       American Society of Pain Management Nurses.
       American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses.
       American Society of Plastic Surgical Nurses.
       Association of Faculties of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
       Association of periOperative Registered Nurses.
       Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing.
       Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal 
     Nurses.
       Emergency Nurses Association.
       National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association.
       National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists.
       National Association of Neonatal Nurses.
       National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses.
       National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
       National Association of School Nurses.
       National Black Nurses Association, Inc.
       National Conference of Gerontological Nurse Practitioners.
       National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.
       National League for Nursing.
       National Nursing Centers Consortium.
       National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties.
       National Student Nurses' Association, Inc.
       Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs.
       Oncology Nursing Society.
       Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc.
       Society of Pediatric Nurses.
                                  ____

                                    American Council on Education,


                                      Office of the President,

                               Washington, DC, September 25, 2002.
     Re support of the Teacher and Nurse Support Act of 2002.
     Hon. Tom Harkin,
     Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Harkin, On behalf of the American Council on 
     Education (ACE) and the organization listed below, I thank 
     you for introducing legislation to expand and extend loan 
     forgiveness and cancellation programs for teachers and 
     nurses. We are grateful to you for working so hard to 
     alleviate the financial burden of America's students, 
     particularly our teachers and nurses. These highly valued but 
     underpaid professionals are educated and prepared in our 
     institutions. We will work with you in building support for 
     these good measures and we will wholeheartedly support your 
     bill when it comes up for consideration.
       Providing financial incentives to nursing and teaching 
     students via federal loan programs is one of the best ways to 
     attract and retain talented individuals to pursue academic 
     study and careers in these important fields.
       As individuals retire and the vacancies for nurses and 
     teachers grow, the United States will need to replace and 
     supplement these essential vocations with qualified 
     personnel. These types of programs and incentives are 
     especially helpful for individuals who choose to dedicate 
     their time and energy to careers that are rarely financially 
     lucrative.
       Thank you again for your leadership on this important 
     issues.
           Sincerely,
                                                       David Ward,
                                                        President.
       On behalf of:
       American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
       American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
       American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
       American Council on Education.
       Association of American Universities.
       Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
       National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher 
     Education.
       National Association of College and University Business 
     Officers.
       National Association of Independent Colleges and 
     Universities.
       National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant 
     Colleges.
       The State PIRGs' Higher Education Project.
       United States Student Association.
                                  ____



                               National Education Association,

                               Washington, DC, September 26, 2002.
     Senator Tom Harkin,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Harkin: On behalf of the National Education 
     Association's (NEA) 2.7 million members, we would like to 
     express our support for the Teacher and Nurse Support Act of 
     2002.
       We are very pleased that your legislation seeks to address 
     the nation's growing teacher shortage by providing student 
     loan forgiveness for individuals who enter the profession. 
     New teacher quality standards coupled with a national teacher 
     shortage make attracting and retaining quality teachers even 
     more important, particilary in high-poverty areas. 
     Unfortunately, too many of today's students rely on loans in 
     order to afford higher education. The resulting debt burden 
     often limits career choices and prevents many talented 
     students from pursuing careers in public service, including 
     as teachers.
       By expanding loan forgiveness and targeting it more toward 
     teachers in high poverty schools, rather than toward limited 
     academic disciplines, your bill will help encourage talented 
     individuals to enter the teaching profession and to bring 
     their skills to schools with the greatest need. In addition, 
     by providing for mandatory spending, the bill will ensure 
     that teachers who qualify will receive the loan forgiveness 
     they need.
       We thank you for your leadership on this important issue 
     and look forward to continuing to work with you in support of 
     children and public education.
           Sincerely,
     Diane Shust,
       Director of Government Relations.
     Randall Moody,
       Manager of Federal Policy and Politics.
                                 ______