National League for Nursing Calls on President Bush to Sign Bill that Will Help Address the Nursing Shortage

NLN president Dr. Elaine Tagliareni and NLN CEO Dr. Beverly Malone entreated President Bush not to exercise his veto of the FY 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill that includes provisions to help reverse the acute and worsening shortage of nurses and nurse educators.

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 11, 2007 -- With the Senate and House clearing the FY 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill for submission to the president, NLN president Dr. Elaine Tagliareni and NLN CEO Dr. Beverly Malone today asked President Bush not to exercise his veto of a bill that includes provisions to help reverse the acute and worsening shortage of nurses and nurse educators so that the nation's health care needs may be met.

Within this bill, Title VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act provide funding for Advanced Education Nursing, Loan Repayment and Scholarships, the Nursing Faculty Loan Program, Health Careers Opportunity Program, Centers of Excellence, Area Health Education Centers, and public health programs.

"Reducing funding for programs under the umbrella of Nursing Workforce Development and Health Professions Programs is ill-considered in light of our aging population and nursing workforce. And they are critical to providing continued health services to underserved and minority communities," stated Drs. Malone and Tagliareni.

The NLN is the sole organization representing leaders in nursing education and nurse faculty across all the types of nursing programs in the United States, with more than 1,100 nursing schools and health care agencies, and 24,000 individual members comprising nurses, educators, administrators, public members across the country.

Editors and reporters: For interview opportunities, please contact NLN chief communications officer, Karen R. Klestzick, at 212-812-0376 or kklestzick@nln.org.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing education, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education offering faculty development, networking opportunities, testing and assessment, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 24,000 individual and 1,100 institutional members.

# # #