ANA Applauds Bush's Commitment To Fund Nursing Education, Health-Care Access Programs

Washington, DC -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) applauds President Bush for his commitment to addressing the nursing shortage, as outlined in his proposed fiscal year (FY) 2003 budget submitted to Congress yesterday.

President Bush recommends allocating $15 million to expand the Nursing Education Loan Repayment program to help address the nation's burgeoning nursing shortage – a 50 percent increase over the previous year's funding. The program addresses the nursing shortage by repaying the educational loans of clinical-care nurses who agree to work for two years in specific public or nonprofit health-care facilities that have a critical need for more nurses. Approximately 800 new nursing education loan agreements will be funded by the increase to the program.

In addition, the administration's budget recommends $83.5 million for grants under the Nurse Education Act (NEA) – a $1 million increase over FY2002 funding. The NEA programs include grants for advanced practice training, minority outreach and basic nursing education.

Although the nurse-education funding increases are modest, they are significant given that most other health profession programs were eliminated in the budget.

ANA President Mary Foley, MS, RN, stated, "We commend President Bush for his commitment to these dual funding initiatives, which will not only encourage more students to go into nursing and other health professions but will also create greater incentives for health care practice in underserved areas and among the uninsured. These budget incentives will increase access to quality health care in local communities, while also addressing the nation's nurse shortage. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress on these pressing issues and other critical nursing-related concerns."

ANA believes that a combination of education and recruitment initiatives, along with action on workplace issues are essential to addressing a looming, unprecedented shortage of nurses that ANA has said amounts to a "public health crisis."

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The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.7 million Registered Nurses through its constituent member nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

2002 press releases

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