[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [House] [Page 8631] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]NATIONAL NURSES WEEK The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) is recognized for 5 minutes. Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, as one of only three nurses in Congress, it is my great honor today to rise in support of National Nurses Week. My training and education as a nurse and my 20 years in my profession in the schools of Santa Barbara in the public school district have given me a unique perspective on my new duties in Congress. As a nurse, I have learned to recognize the importance of so many issues which affect families every day, families in my community, in my congressional district, families across this great country. {time} 1915 Nurses are good listeners. They withhold superficial, quick judgments and take the time to assess situations before them, before they act accordingly. Nurses use common sense skills to put the common good before individual interests. My nursing background has had the strongest influence on my priorities in Congress. As a nurse, I feel that it has been my duty and also my privilege to speak out on behalf of patients and health care providers on what is the critical task before us today. We know what is before us in the world where life and death situations take place, and we also see so clearly the current shortcomings in our health care environment. I sought a seat on the Committee on Commerce which oversees health care so that I could be a part of this discussion. In the age of managed care, where values are often driven by profit motives over health care needs, nurses have been presented with critical new challenges. I have stood with nurses in my district in their frustration over staffing ratios in our hospitals, in our communities. I have been with nurses as they have shed tears over having to discharge frail elderly patients before they are really ready to go home into home situations where there is not adequate health care and support. Nurses know that we should not compromise a patient's quality of care to save a few dollars. Nurses understand the real benefits of real managed care reform. I have been working hard with Republicans and Democrats to pass a common sense Patients' Bill of Rights, legislation which will put patients, nurses, doctors and other providers back in charge of their own health care and holds HMOs accountable when they deny critical, sometimes lifesaving, treatment. Nurses know these basic rights can mean the difference between life and death and between a quality of life that they have spent their profession and their training to uphold. They can and they should and we are speaking out. The Subcommittee on Health and Environment, on which I am privileged to serve, has held only one hearing so far on managed care reform. In that hearing I called for greater participation of nurses. Nurses can and will make valuable additions in this discussion and in the debate before us. In Congress, there is also other legislation originally drafted by a nurse that will protect nurses and other health care workers in all States. The Healthcare Worker Protection Act builds on a California health care initiative by ensuring that all nurses and others in hospitals and treatment centers have safe needle devices and information available on how to use them. We must make sure these workers are protected at all costs. As a nurse in Congress, I am working hard to promote these important issues, but Congress will only be successful in passing meaningful health care legislation when the contributions of those on the front lines, on the every day front lines, are recognized and brought into the discussion. Madam Speaker, the profession of nursing also gives people a unique perspective on other critical issues. As a nurse in a school setting I have seen what children need for successful learning, growth and development. I know firsthand that children learn better in small class sizes and in classrooms that are not deteriorating. From this background, I know that health insurance which covers regular checkups, immunizations and prescription drugs for children is the best preventive medicine. I know that clean water and clean air are not merely environmental issues; they are health issues. In addition to essential contributions to quality health care, nurses are the heart and soul of so many of our communities. There are over 2.5 million nurses across this great land and they stand for, to me, the heart and soul of our values and what binds us together in our communities. We need to pay attention to what our nurses are saying. Despite their busy schedules and hectic work environments, nurses take the time to reach out to our communities, educating neighbors to increase awareness and promote healthy lifestyles. Nurses' efforts in my own community on the central coast of California have raised awareness on the harmful consequences of drinking and driving, taught parents how to properly install safety seats and educated our children about underaged alcohol abuse. As we discuss the positive contributions of nurses during National Nurses Week, we need to work to ensure that these voices of compassion and experience are included in our health care policy debate today. ____________________