[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            HONORING NURSES

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                             HON. RON KIND

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 14, 2008

  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the 
essential role nurses play in providing quality health care across the 
country. Every day people with a variety of needs are served by legions 
of caring, qualified, and professional nurses. They are integral to our 
Nation's health care delivery system.
  Every one can remember an experience when someone they know needed 
health care and a nurse was the first person by their side providing 
care and comfort. We all know someone who works in the field of nursing 
and the commitment they make to their profession, despite extraordinary 
challenges everyday.
  More than 100 representatives of the nursing field are present in our 
Nation's capitol this week to give a voice to their professional needs 
and experiences. Nurses care for our children and serve more of our 
constituents then we will ever meet. Nurses deserve our time, our 
attention, and our respect for their views.
  An adequate supply of nurses is essential to ensuring that all people 
receive quality care and that our Nation's public health infrastructure 
has the professonals necessary to respond to all natural and manmade 
disasters. The Department of Health and Human Services projects that 
the current 10 percent vacancy rate in the registered nursing 
professions will grow to 36 percent by 2020, representing more then 1 
million unfilled jobs.
  Additional congressional leadership, ongoing support, and federal 
funding is necessary to ensure that the Nation has an adequate supply 
of nurses to care for the patients of today and tomorrow.

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