Mikulski Meets With Johns Hopkins Nursing Students, Criticizes Bush Cuts For Programs to Combat Shortage
A photo from today’s meeting is available upon request
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) met today with more than 100 nursing students from Johns Hopkins University, who spent the day on Capitol Hill in honor of National Nurses Week. Senator Mikulski, a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has criticized President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget request, which cuts nursing workforce programs by 30 percent and eliminates funding for the Advanced Education Nursing program, while the nation continues to face an ongoing shortage of nurses.
“President Bush continues to spend billions of dollars every week to pay for the War in Iraq, while at the same time cutting funding to support the everyday needs of Americans here at home. The President is out of touch with the needs of Americans,” said Senator Mikulski. “Our nation is facing an ongoing shortage of nurses, and it is only getting worse. The shortage affects every state, every city, every town – and it affects our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. I will continue to fight for nurses, who are so critical to our health care system.”
The President’s budget proposal cuts nursing workforce programs from $157 million in 2008 to $110 million in 2009. The cuts come even though registered nursing is projected to have the second greatest job growth of all U.S. professions from 2004-2014.
President Bush also provided zero funding for the Advanced Education Nursing program, which prepares approximately 12,000 nurses a year to become nurse faculty and nurse specialists. These nurses often serve in low-income and rural areas where physician shortages are acute.
Senator Mikulski has been a consistent advocate for nursing throughout her 30 years in Congress, and has worked to increase scholarships and access to programs to address the nation’s growing shortage.
In 2002, Senator Mikulski introduced the Nurse Reinvestment Act, which expanded existing programs and created new ones in Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act that offer financial assistance for nursing education and training in order to encourage men and women to enter the nursing field.
