Thomas Daschle: “the Senator's appreciation of the impact of this amendment on nurses is absolutely correct. I commend the Senator…”

“the Senator's appreciation of the impact of this amendment on nurses is absolutely correct. I commend the Senator, again, for his extraordinary efforts and his leadership over the last couple of weeks. He has made me so proud. Every working person in America owes Senator Harkin a debt of gratitude for his powerful articulation of their cause, as we have addressed this and other issues affecting employees, not just nurses. In answer to his question, absolutely, nurses are affected because nurses often work extraordinarily long hours earning overtime. In fact, there is probably no category of workers today, at least in the health care field, more overworked than our nurses, in large part because of the shortage the Senator has addressed in his question. We have a chronic shortage of nurses in America, especially in rural areas and especially in South Dakota. Far too many nurses in South Dakota would be adversely affected by this regulation. We have to recognize what a blow it would be to them. If 25 percent of their income is derived from overtime, we are taking away one-quarter of their purchasing power in one fell swoop by this regulation. That is why this is such a critical fight for us and why it is so important to make this case on this bill.”