Political Quotes

“I rise today with by colleague, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to introduce the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999. Today, some of our nation's poorest rural and inner- city communities face a crisis--they may soon have inadequate or no hospital healthcare because nurses are unwilling to work in these neighborhoods. The Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999 will ensure that hospitals located in these desperately underserved areas can continue to provide adequate healthcare to our most needy communities. Hospitals located in underprivileged areas often experience severe difficulty in attracting nurses. These hospitals operate in the middle of some of the harshest poverty and crime in our country. The employees of these hospitals often treat the worst and most troubling cases. The condition of the surrounding area imperils the ability of these hospitals to recruit and maintain an adequate nursing staff. These circumstances have pushed some hospitals into a financial crisis, threatening the quality of healthcare to those most in need. For the past eight years, this problem has been addressed by the H(1)(a) visa program which has allowed these hospitals to hire nonimmigrant nurses. Unfortunately, the H(1)(a) visa program sunset in 1997, and so once again such hospitals are in crisis. By replacing the H(1)(a) visa, the Nursing Relief Act will alleviate this crisis.…”