[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S2356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Akaka, Mrs. Clinton, 
        Mr. Corzine, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Levin, Mr. 
        Lieberman, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Sarbanes):
  S. 373. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide for patient protection by limiting the number of mandatory 
overtime hours a nurse may be required to work in certain providers of 
services to which payments are made under the medicare program; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to join my colleagues, 
Senators Kerry, Clinton, Sarbanes, Corzine, Mikulski, Dodd, Levin, 
Reed, Lieberman, Feingold, Inouye, and Akaka in introducing the Safe 
Nursing and Patient Care Act.
  Current Federal safety standards limit work hours for pilots, flight 
attendants, truck drivers, railroad engineers and other professionals, 
in order to protect the public safety. However, no similar limitation 
currently exists for the Nation's nurses, who care for so many of our 
most vulnerable citizens.
  The Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act will limit mandatory overtime 
for nurses in order to protect patient safety and improve working 
conditions for nurses. Across the country today, the widespread 
practice of mandatory overtime means that over-worked nurses are often 
providing care in unacceptable circumstances. Restrictions for 
mandatory overtime will help ensure that nurses are able to provide the 
highest quality of care to their patients.
  Some hospitals have taken action to deal with this serious problem. 
Over the last few years in Massachusetts Brockton Hospital and St. 
Vincent Hospital agreed to limit mandatory overtime as part of 
negotiations following successful strikes by nurses. These limits will 
protect patients and improve working conditions for the nurses, and 
will help in the recruitment and retention of nurses in the future.
  Job dissatisfaction and harsh overtime hours are major factors in the 
current shortage of nurses. Nationally, the shortfall is expected to 
rise to 20 percent in coming years. The goal of the Safe Nursing and 
Patient Care Act is to improve the quality of life for nurses, so that 
more persons will enter the nursing profession and remain in it.
  The bill limits mandatory overtime to declared states of emergency. 
Clearly, there are times when other options are exhausted and hospitals 
need additional help. The bill takes account of such needs. The bill 
requires health providers to notify nurses of these new rights, and 
nurses who report violations are guaranteed protection from workplace 
discrimination. In addition, the bill requires the Agency for Health 
Care Research and Quality to report to Congress on appropriate 
standards for the maximum numbers of hours that nurses should work in 
various health settings without compromising patient care.
  Improving conditions for nurses is an essential part of our ongoing 
effort to reduce medical errors, improve patient outcomes, and 
encourage more Americans to become and remain nurses. The power of 
providers to force nurses to work beyond what is safe for themselves 
and their patients is one of the major drawbacks to careers in nursing. 
The Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act is a significant step that 
Congress can take to support the Nation's nurses, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.
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