[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





    SENATE RESOLUTION 737--RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CADET NURSE CORPS AND EXPRESSING THE 
 APPRECIATION OF THE SENATE FOR THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE 
          UNITED STATES CADET NURSE CORPS DURING WORLD WAR II

  Mr. KING (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Ms. Warren) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 737

       Whereas the personnel requirements of World War II created 
     a shortage of nurses and, by 1942, it was evident that the 
     pace of training for new nurses could not keep up with the 
     demands of the military and civilian populations of the 
     United States;
       Whereas, as nurses vacated positions in hospitals, schools, 
     and welfare agencies to meet the needs of the Armed Forces, 
     an influx of millions of new workers to industrial areas 
     created unprecedented public health challenges, and such 
     challenges were exacerbated by a nursing capacity that was 
     not sufficient to meet the demands of both the Armed Forces 
     and essential civilian services;
       Whereas the Act of June 15, 1943 (57 Stat. 153, chapter 
     126; commonly known as the ``Bolton Act''), unanimously 
     passed both houses of Congress;
       Whereas the Bolton Act resulted in the establishment of the 
     United States Cadet Nurse Corps, which was a uniformed 
     service under the direction of the United States Public 
     Health Service and operated from 1943 to 1948;
       Whereas the United States Cadet Nurse Corps was open to 
     minorities, including African Americans and Native Americans, 
     because the Bolton Act included a provision restricting 
     discrimination in the administration of the Act on account of 
     race, creed, or color;
       Whereas enrollment in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps 
     required a commitment to serve for the duration of World War 
     II, with each cadet taking the following pledge: ``I will 
     dedicate myself now and forever to the triumph of life over 
     death; As a Cadet nurse, I pledge to my country my service in 
     essential nursing for the duration of the war.'';
       Whereas an April 1944 memorandum from the Federal Security 
     Agency identified ``national recognition for rendering a 
     vital war service'' as a privilege of service in the United 
     States Cadet Nurse Corps;
       Whereas with more than 120,000 women enrolled in the United 
     States Cadet Nurse Corps by the termination of the program, 
     the United States Cadet Nurse Corps played an important role 
     in overcoming the nursing shortage at military, Federal, and 
     non-Federal hospitals across the United States; and
       Whereas Surgeon General Thomas Parran, appearing before the 
     Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Representatives 
     in January 1945, highlighted the positive contribution of the 
     United States Cadet Nurse Corps to the war effort by stating, 
     ``We cannot measure what the loss to the country would have 
     been if [the] civilian nursing service had collapsed, any 
     more than we could measure the cost of failure on the 
     Normandy beachheads.'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the 75th anniversary of the formation of the 
     United States Cadet Nurse Corps; and
       (2) expresses appreciation for the vital contribution that 
     the members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps made to 
     the war effort by filling critical military and essential 
     civilian nursing positions during the nursing shortage caused 
     by World War II.

                          ____________________