Political Quotes

“as this headline from Newsweek magazine reports, a few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Education issued probably the most out-of-touch, offensive new rule in the history of the Department, excluding nursing from its definition of ``professional occupations,'' part of its new graduate student loan program, which was created by the one big, ugly bill. For the 4.7 million actively registered nurses and the 250,000 students enrolled in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral nursing programs across the United States, this decree that they are not professionals is both a disgraceful insult that shocks the conscience and an order which will condemn America's nurses into second-class status for Federal graduate student loan assistance. Madam Speaker, this legal demotion is happening at a time when our country is experiencing a nursing shortage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that we have 195,000 unfilled nursing positions in this country. The Department of Health and Human Services goes even higher. It says that it is 280,000. McKinsey & Company, a respected think tank, predicts that the shortage will grow to 400,000 by the end of this decade.”