Nurse Reinvestment Act Funded for $20 Million in the U.S. Senate

Washington, DC --The American Nurses Association (ANA) today applauded the U.S. Senate for approving $20 million in new federal funds for the Nurse Reinvestment Act as part of the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2003. The funding package now goes to a conference committee with the U.S. House of Representatives, where the final version will be hammered out.

"We are very pleased that the Senate has approved these new funds and that the amendment received bipartisan support," said ANA President Barbara A. Blakeney, MS, APRN,BC, ANP. "It is a good first step toward getting the funds we need to implement the Nurse Reinvestment Act. However, we must ensure that the House also sees the importance of making this much-needed investment in nursing," Blakeney added. "We look forward to working with sponsors in both the House and Senate to make sure that the nursing shortage is addressed." The amendment appropriating the money was introduced by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD).

The Nurse Reinvestment Act was signed into law in August 2002. It authorizes scholarships and loan repayments for nursing students who agree to work in shortage areas after they graduate. The new law also authorizes public service announcements to promote nursing as a career, loan cancellations for nursing faculty, grants for geriatric nurse education, and grants to encourage nursing best-practices, such as those in the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Recognition Program for excellence in nursing services.

"We thank Senator Mikulski for spearheading this effort, as well as the other senators who supported it," Blakeney said. "With predictions that we will be short more than 800,000 registered nurses by the year 2020, we need to act now."

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ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.7 million Registered Nurses through its 54 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare 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.

2003 press releases

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