On July 22, the House and Senate approved a bill (H.R. 3487) designed to reduce the nursing shortage, sending the measure to the President. Different versions of the Nursing Reinvestment Act (H.R. 3487 and S. 1864) were approved by the House and the Senate on December 20, 2001 (see The Source, 12/20/02). An agreement between bill sponsors allowed the measure to move forward. H.R. 3487 is sponsored by Reps. Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) and Lois Capps (D-CA). S. 1864 is sponsored by Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Tim Hutchinson (R-AR).
Prior to passing the bill by unanimous consent, the Senate adopted a substitute amendment that incorporated changes agreed to by House and Senate sponsors. The House then approved, by voice vote, the Senate-passed bill under suspension of the rules.
Sen. Mikulski praised the legislation, saying, “The bill will empower the single mom stuck in a dead end retail job to get a nursing degree at the local community college to forge a better life for herself and her family.”
Sen. Hutchinson called the bill “a solid step forward in addressing the nursing shortage in our country.”
Noting that the bill “marks a major commitment by the Congress to end the shortage of nurses,” Rep. Capps said, “As we struggle to prepare our Nation for everyday public health emergencies, and extraordinary events like bio-terrorism, we certainly cannot afford to be without enough nurses.”
Rep. Bilirakis agreed, “Our health and long-term care systems rely heavily on the services of these dedicated health care professionals. Nurses provide critical medical services necessary to ensure quality health care.”
The original Senate bill was more comprehensive and contained specific authorization levels for each program; however, the original House bill, while narrower, did not include specific authorization levels. The final bill draws predominantly from a number of Senate provisions, while retaining the House’s preference for not including specific funding levels.
Like both bills, H.R. 3487 would establish a National Nurse Service Corps Scholarship to provide funds to individuals seeking nursing education in exchange for service in a critical nursing shortage area upon completion of that education. Additionally, the legislation would extend the current loan repayment program to nursing students who agree to work for at least two years at a health care facility with a critical nursing shortage. The program was included in both the House and Senate bills.
Like the original House bill, the final measure would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the nursing profession. Grants would be awarded to support state and local advertising campaigns to promote the nursing profession. The Senate bill would have authorized $4 million in FY2003 for a public education campaign aimed at enhancing the image of the nursing profession, promoting diversity in the workforce, encouraging individuals to enter the nursing profession, and encouraging career development for individuals in the nursing profession.
Another grant program authorized in the bill is aimed at assisting individuals in obtaining education and training to further their nursing career and is similar to a provision included in the original Senate bill. Under the nurse education, practice, and retention grants, funds may be used to expand the enrollment in undergraduate nursing programs, develop and implement internship and residency programs to encourage mentoring, provide education in new technologies, establish or expand nursing practice arrangements in noninstitutional settings, provide care for underserved populations and high-risk groups, develop cultural competencies among nurses, promote career advancement for nursing personnel, provide career counseling and mentoring, and promote nurse involvement in the organizational and clinical decisionmaking of a health care facility.
H.R. 3487 would authorize a grant program to train and educate individuals in providing geriatric care to the elderly, like the Senate bill.
The final bill also would establish a nursing faculty loan program, which would allow for up to 85 percent of an individual’s student loans to be cancelled if that individual becomes, and remains, a faculty member at a school of nursing. The program is similar to a program included in the original Senate bill.
As approved, the legislation includes a House provision that would require the General Accounting Office to conduct two studies. One study would examine the differences in the hiring of nurses by nonprofit entities as compared to for-profit entities. The other study would examine whether and to what extent there is a shortage of nursing school faculty.
