Supporting the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the chairman of the Health Subcommittee and Energy and Commerce, Mr. Deal from Georgia, and also the ranking member, Mr. Brown, both of you for your advocacy for nurses and for health care in general; and I also commend my friend and fellow nurse, Eddie Bernice Johnson from Texas, for introducing this resolution.

As we observe National Nurses Week May 6 through 12, our goal is to raise awareness about important issues facing the nursing community here in the United States. After all, the priorities of this Nation's nearly 2.9 million nurses do reflect the priorities of everyone when it comes to health care issues.

Nurses serve their patients in the most important capacities. We know that they serve as our first lines of communication when something goes wrong or when we are concerned about health. They check their vital signs and collect our patient histories. They are critical players in the performance of life and death surgery and procedures.

They attentively care for the most vulnerable patients in the ICU and the newborn nurseries and in our senior centers, and they serve as essential first responders in times of disaster.

Beyond that, it is nurses who sit patiently with their patients to educate them about important preventive and follow-through health care. They are there for patients and their families, giving them the moral support needed when faced with an ominous diagnosis. They are the ones who advocate on behalf of patients for quality health care.

Unfortunately, today our Nation is experiencing a crisis, a crisis in the nursing shortage. Currently, it is at 6 percent. That means 6 percent fewer nurses today at work, in hospitals, in public health, in clinics, than is needed for the health and safety of this country; and that number is surely going to grow unless we make some serious investments now.

For several years in a row, this administration has proposed flat funding of nurse education programs. Without enough nursing educators, those to train the next generation of nurses, we cannot deal with the shortage. At the same time, we are all aware of our budget deficit, which is the reason given for not funding nurse educator programs.

I come back to the fact, educating the next generation of nurses and nurse educators is something that cannot be compromised. I know, Mr. Speaker, that this message is getting through to my colleagues. This year, over 150 Members of Congress in a bipartisan way supported an appropriations request to increase nurse education funding.

To repeat, 150 Members of Congress supported an appropriations request to increase nurse education funding.

But we must build on this momentum now and ensure that funding is increased this year and next year. Investments in nurse education now will mean a greater ability to provide quality health care to Americans in years to come.

Studies have indicated there is a strong correlation between the shortages of nurses and morbidity and mortality rates in our hospitals. Other research studies today in America are revealing that Americans on average are less healthy than people living in other industrialized nations. Just this week, new research specifically revealed the greater incidence in which Americans suffer from illness than their counterparts in England.

Now, it is not my attempt to make assumptions about the reason for this. But I can tell you beyond a doubt that, by increasing our investments in nurses and providing better working conditions for nurses, we can improve the health of all Americans. So I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, support the goals of National Nurses Week.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps), who is a nurse and also is one of the most outstanding members of the Commerce Committee specializing in the incredibly good work on public health.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the sponsor of this resolution, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), a nurse, also very involved in public health issues in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I will close and yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Mrs. Capps for their commitment to public health and for bringing this resolution to the floor today.

Our health care system depends on the 2.7 million registered nurses who have dedicated themselves to providing the highest quality of care in our hospitals, in our clinics, in our long-term care facilities and our doctors' offices.

To recognize the dedication of these women and men, we celebrate their accomplishments during National Nurses Week held every year during the week leading up to the May 12 birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

This year, National Nurses Week highlights nurses' strength, commitment and compassion. These qualities are rare, and they help explain why our health care system would falter without the contribution of registered nurses.

Nurses are the center of our efforts to improve the Nation's health. They are at the front lines administering care, educating the public, helping patients and the families cope with the challenges of injury and illness.

Unfortunately, as we hear too often, we are facing a serious shortage of nurses; and that shortage is growing, so much so that the Department of Health and Human Services recently predicted a shortage of more than 800,000 nurses, keep in mind we have 2.7 million nurses today, a shortage of 800,000 nurses by the year 2020.

With fewer and fewer trained hands and minds at the bedside and in the doctor's office, leaving overworked nurses to handle more and more patients, we can only expect the availability of quality health care to decline.

We need to invest in attracting and training a new generation of nurses and to foster retention for those who are already practicing. Resolution 245 honors the goals of National Nurses Week, raises the awareness of the vital role that nurses play in our health care system, and focuses attention on the unmet challenge that we face as the shortage of nurses intensifies.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee for bringing this measure to the floor. I thank Eddie Bernice Johnson, and I am pleased to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week, and I am indebted to my colleague from California for her scholarly presentation.

I started my career as a nurse and worked for more than 15 years as a psychiatric nurse, and it helps me here. I was the chief psychiatric nurse at the VA Hospital, Day Treatment Center, as well as the Day Hospital in Dallas, Texas.

Next week, May 6-12, is National Nurses Week; and it is fitting for this body to honor the millions of nurses in America.

Nurses are usually very, very dedicated individuals. In my personal experience, nurses tend to be intelligent, detail oriented. They tend to be ready to act at the spur of the moment, and with knowledge.

Their work touches all aspects of patient care, whether it is in the emergency room, in the operating room, in the doctor's office, at the neighborhood clinic, in the schools, and battlefields. Nurses stand at the forefront of many lines of our health care system, and they must make life and death decisions, often with little advance notice, and they have frequent hands-on contact with the patient.

For these reasons, a caring attitude and compassionate heart are required for the hard work nurses do. In my years as a nurse, I have seen miracles and I have seen tragedies. At the VA, I worked with soldiers fresh from battle, as well as men and women who fought bravely years before. It was an honor to serve America's veterans, each one on his or her individual path to recovery of good health.

Nurses Week is really appropriate, because there hardly is anyone alive who will be born and finish life without contact with a nurse.

We have a severe shortage right now; and I would hope that we would be more open to attempting to get more nurses, American-educated nurses, so that we will not lose the care that the nurses give. They work very hard for their patients. The American public needs to know that Congress recognizes nurses for the great work they do.

I thank the leadership for its support of this bill. I would like to especially thank the two other Members of Congress who also are nurses for their collaboration and united stance in support of issues important to nurses. Both of them have been more active since than I have in nursing. But it is an old saying, once a nurse, always a nurse.

I commend this legislation to my colleagues and urge their support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the 2.9 million nurses across the country whose vital contributions to our healthcare system are rightfully honored this week during ``National Nurses Week.''

The theme of National Nurses Week (NNW) 2006 is ``Nurses: Strength, Commitment, Compassion.'' These are 3 qualities that nurses show on a daily basis in caring for patients during times of disaster and crisis, at the bedside, and through continuing education.

In my own healthcare and that provided to my family and friends, I am continually impressed by the knowledge, professionalism, and kindness that nurses demonstrate in their patient care. They are literally at the front lines of our healthcare system, and their important role deserves to be recognized. That is why I am pleased to support House Resolution 245, supporting the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week.

There are immediate challenges facing the profession of nursing, and there are concrete steps that Congress should take in order to ensure that patients can benefit from their care now and in the future. Most notably, we must take steps to address the growing shortage of nurses and the aging of the nursing workforce.

Recruitment and retention of nurses is important, as is ensuring that schools of nursing have the faculty and resources they need to teach and train students. That is why I introduced H.R. 2184, the Nursing School Capacity Act, which would authorize an Institute of Medicine (IOM) study to identify constraints encountered by schools of nursing in admitting an adequate number of nurses for our healthcare system, and develop recommendations to alleviate the constraints.

We must fully fund nurse workforce development programs through Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act. Unfortunately, as the nursing shortage has worsened, funding has remained flat. We must ensure that healthcare providers are adequately staffed with nurses, and protect nurses from mandatory overtime. We also must support the right of nurses to bargain collectively with their employer, a basic right that should be afforded to workers in all sectors of our economy.

I thank all nurses for the contributions that they make to our health and to our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 245) supporting the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation, and to insert extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 245, a resolution

supporting the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week.

Nurses are an integral component of the health care system, and it is important that we recognize the over 2.7 million registered nurses for the significant work that they do. For the last 3 years, we have celebrated National Nurses Week. Beginning on May 6, we will once again have the opportunity to truly commend the nursing community for their contributions to our national health delivery system.

I thank Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson for introducing this resolution, and I encourage my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would repeat my expression of appreciation for our colleague, Ms. Johnson, for bringing this resolution today and commend all of those in our society who have chosen the field of nursing as their profession and encourage others to do so and follow their example.

Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that we honor them by this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.