WASHINGTON, D.C. – Led by Congresswoman Lois Capps and Congressman Steven LaTourette, 96 House Members sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee calling for additional funding for Nursing Workforce Development Programs.  The bipartisan letter noted that the nursing shortage poses a grave threat to both patient safety and domestic preparedness efforts. 

“This additional funding is critical to addressing our country’s nursing shortage,” said Capps a nurse and member of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.  “Year after year we have short changed nurse education funding, despite the fact that our national nursing shortage is growing.  At a time when we should be increasing nurse education funding to properly address  our nation's health crisis , the Bush Administration has proposed  further cutting  funds for successful programs that increase our capacity to train the next generation of nurses.  These misguided cuts will further contribute to our nation's shortage of health professionals, thereby compromising our ability to deliver quality health care and to ensure that we are prepared for domestic challenges like a bioterrorism incident or a pandemic.  My colleagues and I are strongly committed to providing the resources necessary to meet the rising demand for registered nurses and will continue fighting for increased funds.”   

The House Members requested $200 million for the Nursing Workforce Development Programs, the main source of funding for programs that support a sufficient nursing workforce.  Following several years of flat funding at $150 million, the President’s Budget proposes a substantial cut in funding for Title VIII programs to only $105.3 million in FY2008.  In their letter the House Members noted that funding for nursing education and recruitment has fallen in the last 3 years, even as the nation’s nursing shortage has grown.  The current funding shortage has had a devastating impact on the financial support provided to nursing students and the ability to recruit and retain much needed nurse faculty.   

A copy of the letter is attached: 

March 20, 2007

The Honorable Dave Obey                               The Honorable James Walsh

Chairman,                                                         Ranking Member,

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and                 Subcommittee on Labor, Health and

Human Services, and Education                        Human Services, and Education

Committee on Appropriations                           Committee on Appropriations

United States House of Representatives            United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC  20515                                   Washington, DC  20515

Dear Chairman Obey and Ranking Member Walsh:

We are writing in support of $200 million in FY 2008 appropriations for the Nursing Workforce Development Programs administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The programs, authorized by Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act, could make a real difference in the national nursing shortage if funded sufficiently. Following several years of flat funding at $150 million, the President proposed cutting funding for Title VIII programs to only $105.3 million in FY2008.  We believe an increase in funding to $200 million is needed to maintain advanced education nursing programs, to invest in nursing education capacity, and to support programs that direct nurses into critical shortage areas. We also urge you to restore funding for advanced practice nursing programs, which were eliminated in the President’s budget request.

The United States is experiencing a nursing shortage that is projected to deepen over the next decade. HRSA projects that, absent aggressive intervention, the supply of nurses in America will fall 36 percent (more than 1 million nurses) below requirements by the year 2020. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that registered nurses are projected to create the second largest number of new jobs among all occupations in the time period spanning 2004 – 2014. During this time period, the health care system will require more than 1.2 million new nurses.

Nurses are also the cornerstone of bioterrorism and pandemic flu preparedness and response. If these events were to occur, an adequate supply of nurses will be needed to evaluate patients, administer vaccines and medications, perform disease surveillance, and train non-licensed staff. The GAO, the American Hospital Association, and Trust for America’s Health have all released reports citing the nursing shortage as a major impediment to preparedness efforts.

This nursing shortage is also having a negative impact on critical military health care programs. In 2005, Army leaders warned the Senate Appropriations Committee that they were experiencing a 30% shortage of certified registered nurse anesthetists. In 2006, leaders from the Navy Nurse Corps reported a deficit in nursing end strength with a 43% shortage of critical care nurses, and a 16% shortage of nurse anesthetists.

Current funding levels fail to meet the growing need for nurses. In fact, Title VIII funding has decreased over the last three fiscal years, as the nursing shortage has grown. Now is the time to invest in nursing. Your support for at least $200 million in FY 2008 funding for Nursing Workforce Development will make a real difference in this developing crisis.

Sincerely

1. Rep. Abercrombie

2. Rep. Allen

3. Rep. Baldwin

4. Rep. Becerra

5. Rep. Berkley

6. Rep. Berman

7. Rep. Bishop (NY)

8. Rep. Blumenauer

9. Rep. Boswell

10. Rep. Boyda

11. Rep. Braley

12. Rep. Calvert

13. Rep. Capps

14. Rep. Capuano

15. Rep. Cardoza

16. Rep. Carnahan

17. Rep. Carney

18. Rep. Castle

19. Rep. Cleaver

20. Rep. Cohen

21. Rep. Conyers

22. Rep. Costa

23. Rep. Courtney

24. Rep. Danny Davis

25. Rep. Tom Davis

26. Rep. DeGette

27. Rep. Dingell

28. Rep. Doyle

29. Rep. Engel

30. Rep. Eshoo

31. Rep. Etheridge

32. Rep. Farr

33. Rep. Gerlach

34. Rep. Gingrey

35. Rep. Gohmert

36. Rep. Gordon

37. Rep. Graves 38. Rep. Al Green

39. Rep. Grijalva

40. Rep. Herseth

41. Rep. Hinchey

42. Rep. Hinojosa

43. Rep. Hirono

44. Rep. Holden

45. Rep. Holt

46. Rep. Hooley

47. Rep. Jindal

48. Rep. Johnson (IL)

49. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson 50.  Rep. King (NY)

51. Rep. LaTourette

52. Rep. Lewis (GA)

53. Rep. LoBiondo

54. Rep. Loebsack

55. Rep. Lofgren

56. Rep. Maloney

57. Rep. Markey

58. Rep. Matsui

59. Rep. McCarthy (NY)

60. Rep. McDermott

61. Rep. McNulty

62. Rep. Michaud

63. Rep. Brad Miller

64. Rep. George Miller

65. Rep. Moore (KS)

66. Rep. Moore (WI)

67. Rep. Moran (VA)

68. Rep. Murphy, Chris

69. Rep. Neal

70. Rep. Norton

71. Rep. Pascrell

72. Rep. Paul

73. Rep. Peterson (MN)

74. Rep. Platts 75. Rep. Porter

76. Rep. David Price

77. Rep. Ramstad

78. Rep. Reyes

79. Rep. Ross

80. Rep. Rush

81. Rep. Sarbanes

82. Rep. Saxton

83. Rep. Schakowsky

84. Rep. Schwartz

85. Rep. Shays

86. Rep. Shuler

87. Rep. Smith (NJ)

88. Rep. Snyder

89. Rep. Stark

90. Rep. Sutton

91. Rep. Tauscher

92. Rep. Taylor

93. Rep. Udall (CO)

94. Rep. VanHollen

95. Rep. Waxman

96. Rep. Wu

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Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.