[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 69 (Friday, May 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E917-E918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE NURSE EDUCATION PROMOTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 9, 2003

  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Nurses 
Week and honor the essential work that America's nurses do every day. 
It is important to raise public awareness of the value of nursing and 
to help educate the public about the vital roles nurses play in meeting 
the health care needs of the American people. Nurses constitute the 
nation's largest group of heath care professionals. They serve in 
hospitals, nursing homes, schools, managed care facilities and 
community health centers, and their work is invaluable.
  Unfortunately, fewer and fewer people are choosing nursing as a 
career. In recognition of National Nurses Week, I am pleased to join my 
friend and colleague Congressman Ernie Fletcher in introducing 
important legislation that helps address the nursing shortage by 
encouraging students to enter the profession. According to the General 
Accounting Office, between 1993 and 1996 enrollments at two-year 
associate nursing degree programs dropped 11 percent, while enrollments 
at three-year diploma programs dropped more than 40 percent. Between 
1995 and 1998, enrollments at four-year bachelors programs dropped 19 
percent. Even so, the demand for qualified nurses is increasing, and it 
will only grow as the baby boomers retire. The Bureau of Labor 
Statistics projects that more than one million new nurses will be 
needed by the year 2010.
  This crisis threatens to compromise the quality of healthcare in this 
country. The Department of Health and Human Services reports that there 
is a ``strong and consistent relationship'' between nurse staffing and 
patient health. The GAO reports that between 2000 and 2030, the group 
of Americans who are 65 years of age and older will double. At the same 
time, the number of women between 25 and 54--the group that 
traditionally comprises most of the nursing workforce--is expected to 
remain the same. Mr. Speaker, today, more than ever before, we need 
nurses to care for our seniors. Unless we create incentives and 
opportunities for men and women to choose nursing as a career, this 
country will face a crisis in the next ten years.
  To help address this problem, Congressman Ernie Fletcher and I are 
introducing the bipartisan Nurse Education Promotion Act. Our bill 
addresses the nursing shortage in a number of important ways. First, it 
establishes a competitive grant program for associate degree nursing 
schools to be used for nursing

[[Page E918]]

student recruitment, student scholarships, and the hiring of faculty.
  Second, the bill establishes a competitive grant program for 
professional nurses associations, so that they may create and 
administer continuing education programs in cooperation with area 
hospitals and higher education institutions.
  The nurses associations would coordinate class work at a central 
location for which nurses could receive college credit towards a BSN or 
equivalent degree and/or training in an understaffed and critical 
nursing specialty. The clinical portion of the continuing education 
could be done at any of the participating hospitals.
  While we support other legislation to alleviate the nursing shortage, 
we believe that by focusing on the two-year schools our bill gets 
nurses into the field more quickly. By providing money for continuing 
education, we hope to ensure that nurses are able to meet the changing 
and increasingly complex demands of our healthcare system. As we 
celebrate National Nurses Week, we hope our colleagues will join us in 
our efforts to alleviate the nursing shortage and head off a major 
healthcare crisis that is just on the horizon.

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