I Don’t Hate America!

From MyFox 9:

MINNEAPOLIS — Former Vice President Al Gore thinks Al Franken would be “a fantastic senator,” according to a letter sent to Democratic delegates.

Gore’s endorsement of Franken’s bid for the U.S. Senate comes days before Franken squares off against opponent Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer for the DFL endorsement at the state party convention in Rochester, Minn.

One reason Gore endorses Franken is their shared goals of an effort to slow global warming.

The big day is this Saturday where Franken and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer will fight for the DFL party nomination.  It should also be mentioned that the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) and AFL-CIO have endorsed Franken.  I do wish that JNP would voice his concerns for nursing more, like Franken has done on his website.  I have contacted JNP twice about it with no answer.  However, I cannot endorse Franken for his poor universal healthcare plan that requires each state to enact their own.

In response to the comments on my previous post, ANA endorses Hillary Clinton, I did some investigating into why Obama may not have been chosen over Clinton.

The ANA endorsement process involves four steps. Here is a brief outline of the steps found at the ANA site (some material quoted directly to ensure accuracy):

Step 1: The ANA chooses four members from the ANA-PAC board to serve on the Presidential Endorsement Task Force. This year, it was the following:
- Sara Jarrett, RN, MS, MA, EdD of Colorado (Chair)
- Barbara Crane, RN, CRRN of New York
- Elizabeth Dietz, EdD, RN, CS-NP, of California
- Representative Erin Murphy, BSN, RN of Minnesota

Step 2: The task force works with the ANA Government Affairs to:
- Review candidates voting records,
- Work on drafting a questionnaire,
- Polling of Constituent Member Associations (CMA) and ANA membership for their preferred candidates, and
- Conducting interviews with the candidates.

Step 3: The ANA’s Board of Directors are given the recommendation from the PAC board (which includes the task force and their work with the ANA Government Affairs) and an endorsement process decision is made. The three options are:
- No endorsement or support of a candidate,
- Support one or more candidates during the primary elections, or
- Support of a candidate following the party nominating conventions

Step 4: “The ANA Board of Directors will vote to ratify the PAC Board’s endorsement recommendation.” This information is then communicated to ANA members, CMA’s, the candidates, and appropriate media parties.

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Six questions were chosen for the candidate questionnaire. Here is an example of an unanswered one. Click the names below to read the candidate’s responses in their entirety.

Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama

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My investigation:

Finding 1

Representative Erin Murphy (DFL 64A) has been an excellent advocate for nurses. Just recently, I wrote Strib: Minnesotans could save 12.3 billion in healthcare costs in which I mentioned Rep. Murphy’s continuing support. Since finding who served on the Presidential Endorsement Task Force, I did some searches on any personal endorsements prior to the ANA decision. My concern was for any bias before serving on the Task Force.

Clinton’s webpage specifically mentions Representative Erin Murphy’s joining of Clinton’s Minnesota Steering Committee in a January 25th press release along with nearly 50 other Minnesota legislators and community leaders. Curiously enough, this came on the same day as the ANA endorsement of Hillary Clinton. The timing was appropriate, but I wanted to find out more. Mike from Blog4President.US made the announcement of Rep. Murphy joining Clinton’s campaign on January 24th, 2008. Again, timing is very important as a personal endorsement should not come before the association endorsement, especially since Rep. Murphy was bound to ANA endorsement rationale:

However, as a professional organization ANA will consider candidates based solely on who will best serve the interests of the nursing profession and their patients. Political parties or personal agendas will not matter in this process. No political support will be offered by ANA without thoughtful analysis of a candidate’s past record and views on nursing.

Turns out, John Edwards had already received an endorsement from Representative Erin Murphy following the launch of a “Women for Edwards” campaign on May 15th, 2007. If any of you remember, John Edwards was in the race until January 30th, 2008, just five days after Murphy’s joining of Clinton’s Steering Committee. Blog4President.US also announced Murphy’s support for Edwards.

I am very proud of Rep. Murphy’s accomplishments, but I bring up these issues since I worry about any bias when choosing the candidate for an association that represents 2.9 million nurses. This is especially important since she threw her early support toward John Edwards and now Clinton, with no mention of any support for Obama. I hate to pick on her, but I could not find any information on the others serving on the Task Force.

Finding 2

Step 2 of the endorsement process involves conducting interviews with the candidates. The ANA sent questionnaires to all candidates, but only received answers from Democrats Clinton, Obama, Biden, Dodd, Edwards, Kucinich, Richardson and Republican Ron Paul.

The only candidates that participated in the interview were Clinton, Kucinich, and Richardson. This makes Clinton the only candidate who participated in the interview who was still in the race at the time of selection. Because Obama did not participate in the interview, he consequently lost points throughout the endorsement process. This is despite his strong answers on the questionnaire.

Unfortunately, according to a letter sent back to nurses who were upset about the ANA endorsement, the following are the actual results of the member-base votes*:

Clinton - 42%
Obama - 21%
McCain - 8%
Edwards - 9%, Huckabee - 8%, Romney - 5%, Guliani - 3%, Thompson - 3%, Kucinich - 1%, Paul - 1%, Biden - 0.5%, Richardson - 0.12%, Dodd - 0%, Gravel - 0%, Hunter - 0%

*Despite my frequent activity working for nursing and political issues, I was not aware of this voting and consequently, my vote was not represented in the final tally. I am curious to know what the actual numbers are.

Finding 3

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) are vocal supporters of national single-payer coverage, which Clinton’s plan lacks. In advertisements that came out prior to the endorsement, the NNOC came out in full force challenging Clinton’s healthcare plan. Check out this YouTube video of one challenge:

It is only fair to say that Obama has been challenged as well because his plan does not include single-payer coverage either.

However, Obama has been consistent with the ideal that he supports a single-payer system. From Obama’s fact check:

Obama said, “Here’s the bottom line. If I were designing a system from scratch I would probably set up a single-payer system…But we’re not designing a system from scratch…And when we had a healthcare forum before I set up my healthcare plan here in Iowa there was a lot of resistance to a single-payer system. So what I believe is we should set up a series of choices….Over time it may be that we end up transitioning to such a system. For now, I just want to make sure every American is covered…I don’t want to wait for that perfect system…The one thing you should ask about the candidates though is who’s gonna have the capacity to actually deliver on the change?…I believe I’ve got a better capacity to break the gridlock and attract both Independents and Republicans to work together.”

Finding 4

The movie SiCKO pointed out the fact that many members of Congress receive contributions from the healthcare industry. Clinton is one who has, and still receives money from many of these insiders. The CNA/NNOC concluded an analysis on contributions and released a press release last summer. This was outlined on Fierce Healthcare:

The CNA/NNOC analysis concludes that healthcare industry players contributed $3.7 million to current candidates during the first quarter of 2007. It also notes that the industry–which it defines as including drug and insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, dentists and nursing homes–spent more than $2.2 billion on federal lobbying over the past decade. By CNA/NNOC calculations, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) and Sen. John McCain (R) got the lion’s share of healthcare contributions of all presidential candidates, collecting 40 percent of the overall total.

Using data from the Center for Responsive Politics, Barack Obama receives 99% of his donations from individual contributors with a mere $25 received from PAC’s. Clinton receives 87% from individuals with over $1 million from PAC’s. She also recently donated $5 million from her own wallet to catch up with Obama’s advertising.

In an article entitled, “Deborah Burger and Maureen Caristi: Guaranteed healthcare, not just insurance,” the author’s look at the bigger problem of healthcare reform. Pieces quoted from the article:

“…simply adding more Americans into a flawed insurance system will not solve our national health care crisis. Especially when you let insurers continue to charge as much as they want, and do nothing to stop their callous, all too routine practice of denying medical treatment or blocking access to specialists or diagnostic tests because they don’t want to spend the money.

Mandating people to buy insurance is at the center of the debate on health care between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — she’s for it, he’s against it…”

“Obama has a point that the cost of insurance makes it a bad bargain for many Americans. Insurance policies now average over $12,000 per family just for the premiums, not including skyrocketing deductibles, co-pays and other costs that have made medical bills the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.”

“The individual mandate cheerleaders claim that if you don’t put everyone in the insurance pool, only the sick will buy health care and insurance companies will raise costs. Have any of them noticed that insurance premiums have gone up 87 percent nationally the past decade without a national individual mandate?

But individual mandates are popular with the insurance industry and those close to it. Insurers reap millions of new customers with minimal requirement to change their behavior. It further entrenches a broken system, expanding the reach of an industry that treats every dollar spent on care as a “medical loss ratio.”

It distorts the role of government, which should be to protect people, not act as an insurance agent.”

Finding 5

Many people across the internet are looking for the quote that Clinton apparently said about nurses being “overpaid and undereducated.” There are also rumors about her calling nurses “glorified waitresses” at one point. I scoured the net, including searching my graduate school databases with no evidence of these quotes. However, the website, Snopes, thinks they found the source for the “overpaid and undereducated” quote.

In remarks by Hillary Clinton for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (Sept. 5th, 1995 in Beijing, China), Clinton said the following,

As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace around the world - - as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and subjected to violence in and out of their homes - - the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized.

Full text and video can be found here. There were multiple statements made about nurses which could have caused this to be misinterpreted. However, many people still swear that they heard Clinton make the rumored comments.

Finding 6

Here are excerpts from the letter sent by ANA president, Rebecca Patton, in response to those against the ANA endorsement of Clinton,

In making this endorsement, the ANA Board recognized Senator Clinton’s longstanding commitment to nursing and health care. During her time in the Senate, Clinton has been an advocate for nursing issues. Clinton was in support of the Title VIII Nurse Reinvestment Act programs which provide much needed funding for nurse education. She recognizes the need for more nurse practitioners and supports increased authority for and utilization of nurse practitioners as a means of improving access to health care. She has a long history of advocacy for health care reform, and her current plan emphasizes the need to reduce costs, improve quality and ensure affordable health care for all Americans. She was a co-sponsor of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 which would improve mental health services.
From its inception in 1896 to the present day, ANA has recognized that individuals can shape health care policy consistent with the goals of registered nurses and in the best interest of their patients.

Obama’s Views:
- Regarding the Title VIII Nurse Reinvestment Act, Obama not only supports it, but he calls for greater funding in this statement:

I support reauthorization of Title VIII training programs with greater financial incentives for students and nurse faculty, including scholarships and loan repayment. Given the dire shortage of nurses, no less than $200 million should be allocated for Title VIII programs and the Nurse Reinvestment Act.

- Regarding APRN’s, Obama endorses this idea heavily in his statement,

I will support inclusion and expanded reimbursement for APRN services through federal health programs, my new public plan, and private plans offered through my plan’s National Health Insurance Exchange.

- S.558 - Obama is also a co-sponsor of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007.

- From Advance for Nurses, Kate Hartner sums up Obama’s responses,

Obama proposes: supporting minimum staffing ratios, limiting overtime, reauthorizing Title VIII training programs with scholarships and loan reimbursement, health system reform, paperless systems, supporting nursing unions and expanding APRN practice.

I think it is only fair that a rationale letter would address how Obama and Clinton differ in their views, rather than explain most of the same things the candidates agree on.

———-

Summary

Needless to say from my week of exhausting investigation, I am disappointed in the American Nurses Association. I feel they prematurely endorsed a candidate that has a history of supporting nurses, but lacks the necessary ideas for a new direction for healthcare in this country. Obama’s healthcare plan, though not single-payer, works better in this country that seems entirely focused on their wallets. Clinton has gone as far as to say she’s willing to garnish wages as an enforcement mechanism. How can we force people to purchase coverage from insurance companies, feeding into our already broken healthcare system more, then go on to say we will punish our own citizens by taking away their hard-earned money if they don’t buy? And that dubious statistic that Clinton throws out that Obama’s plan will leave out 15 million people? That was already proven false at FactCheck.org. Blueollie has another excellent analysis on this topic.

I will say that I am slightly disappointed in both candidates as they do not provide true single-payer universal healthcare. However, Obama’s plan will best address the cost control issue currently plaguing our system. Mandating insurance will frustrate consumers while limiting options for those with low incomes. The question here is… is it better to have stripped down insurance (to satisfy a mandate to have coverage), or to buy into affordable, full coverage, which includes subsidies if you do not qualify for SCHIP or Medicaid?

As a registered nurse, I wait for the day when I don’t have to tell my patient that the life-saving drug they are prescribed costs $4 a day, since I worry they will have to choose between taking the drug, or eating a meal. As a registered nurse, I wait for the day that I can treat my patients out in the community, before they end up in the hospital bed, since preventing a disease will cost much less for everyone. As a registered nurse, I wait for the day that a patient of mine can see any doctor or APRN of their choosing, without having to get prior-approval from their insurance company. As a registered nurse, I can’t wait for the day that Barack Obama becomes our next president.

In a surprising move that should upset many nurses, the American Nurses Association endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on January 25th, 2008.  Needless to say, I am still holding my belief that Barack Obama will best serve the interests of our nation when it comes to healthcare.  More criticism to come.

Via press release:

THE AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION ENDORSES
SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY)

SILVER SPRING, MD –The Clinton Campaign today announced the endorsement of the American Nurses Association (ANA). The ANA represents the interests of the nation’s 2.9 million registered nurses.

“Too many Americans must do without high quality health care, and this country deserves a president that will make health system reform a priority,” said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR. “Senator Clinton has shown a commitment to implementing real change in our health care system to ensure high quality, affordable and accessible care. She has also recognized the importance of educating, recruiting and retaining, RNs, and the need to improve the nurse’s work environment which includes addressing safe and appropriate staffing. America’s 2.9 million registered nurses represent the largest group of health care professionals. We have long advocated for the critically needed reforms vital to the improvement of health care and will use our power in the voting booth to make health care a priority.”

“I am honored to have the support of the American Nurses Association,” said Clinton. “We owe nurses a great debt of gratitude for the critical role they play every day in providing quality care. As President, I will continue to support efforts to attract and retain qualified nurses, especially in rural and urban areas, and to improve working conditions. I look forward to working with America’s nurses to deliver affordable, quality health care to every American.”

Hillary has a history of working for America’s nurses. In the Senate, Hillary introduced the Nursing Education and Quality of Care Act, which would expand the number of programs that address nursing faculty shortages and increase the supply of nurses in rural areas. As part of the Nurse Reinvestment Act, she helped create grants that expanded nurse Magnet hospitals. Hillary also supported increased funding for both Title VII and Title VIII, which help to address the higher education needs of nurses and nursing faculty. Finally, she has supported programs to attract nurses to the field, including efforts to improve the quality of the working environment for nurses.

Hillary’s American Health Choices Plan will cover all Americans and improve health care by providing consumers new choices, lowering costs and improving quality. Under Hillary’s plan, Americans who like the insurance they have can keep it and stay with their doctor. But Americans who don’t like the coverage they have will be able to pick from the same set of plans Members of Congress choose for themselves. Under Hillary’s plan, insurance companies won’t be able to deny people coverage for a pre-existing condition and tax credits will ensure that working families never have to pay more than a limited percentage of their income for quality health care. People who change jobs will be able to keep their health care.

ANA has been making presidential endorsements since 1984. The endorsement process includes sending a questionnaire on nursing and health care issues to all of the Democratic and Republican candidates, an invitation to all of the democratic and republican candidates for a personal interview and an online survey of ANA’s membership regarding which candidate is most supportive of nursing’s agenda.

# # #
The ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the interests of the nation’s 2.9 million registered nurses through its 54 constituent member nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

Last weekend was MNA’s 102nd annual House of Delegates convention.  I had the opportunity to be a delegate among 200+ Registered Nurses (RN’s) to represent MNA’s membership of almost 20,000 RN’s.  Like many union organizations, we voted on everything from financial issues to legislative priorities.  As this was my first convention, I did not expect that legislators and senate candidates would be so willing to come and listen with us.  The goal of the MNA PC (our political action committee) was to get a legislator (representative or senator) from every district to sit with their corresponding MNA member’s district.  It was quite successful with over thirty who came. 

I had the opportunity to meet Ron Erhardt (R) 41A, who isn’t my actual representative since I moved last week.  He is the only republican pro-choice candidate in the house.  The MNA believes that 2008 will be a big year for healthcare reform and safe staffing.  Ron wasn’t as optimistic about this as his last statement before leaving was, “I don’t believe in government-run healthcare.”  He was very willing to listen to what we had to say, but hopefully he will continue engaging in conversation with us as we discuss the difference between government-run and government-funded healthcare.  I will write more about that at a later time.

Betty McCollum also addressed us regarding our nursing safe staffing initiatives.  Here is the YouTube video of her statement:

The current U.S senate candidates were all invited to participate in speaking to the delegation.  The DFL candidates Al Franken, Mike Ciresi, Jim Cohen, and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer accepted our invitation.  The GOP candidate, Norm Coleman ignored our invitation by not even responding to the MNA request.  All spoke about nursing issues and wanting to move toward universal healthcare, but their plans for implementation differ greatly.  Here’s a quick position statement from each candidate’s webpage:

Al Franken - “I would require every state to cover every one of its citizens, and the federal government to provide funding to fulfill that requirement. Each individual state would be free to offer a variety of options, as long as they add up to universal coverage, giving us 51 laboratories (if you count DC) to figure out which system works best. “

Mike Ciresi -  “Provide universal coverage.  Keep people healthy through preventative health care and early detection and cure of diseases – before they become chronic problems .  Keep people affordably insured for their lifetime – from job to job, and through retirement, and forever eliminate the term “pre-existing condition”

Jim Cohen - “A pragmatic progressive dares speak the truth that the most practical and economical way for all our citizens, including children, to have access to quality and affordable health care is a publicly funded single payer system modeled after Medicare. This is not socialized medicine. It is simple common sense and a moral dictate.” 

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer - “We need a universal, single-payer comprehensive health care system with a focus on prevention. It will provide security to our families and improve the competitive position of U.S. companies.”

Norm Coleman - “Senator Coleman is deeply committed to the goal of giving all Americans access to quality, and affordable healthcare. With that in mind, he’s fought to pass common sense legislation to drive healthcare costs down.”Before IDHA! endorses any candidate, we will make sure to send out interview questions regarding important issues affecting the nation.  It will be up to the candidate to address our specific issues of importance, such as student financial aid, healthcare costs, and transportation… to name a few. 

You’re suffering from chest pain. You know you don’t have health insurance and can’t afford to get it checked out. It’s difficult to tell if the pain is severe enough to visit the ED or if it will go away on its own. Your wife forces you to go to the ED, worried that you might be having a heart attack. Reluctantly, you get a ride from her and go to the hospital. As soon as you get there, you’re hooked up to monitors, given a couple meds, and talking treatment options with the healthcare team. They decide you must go in for an angiogram, a common procedure done to see if any coronary vessels are occluded. Throughout the entire event, you keep thinking, “do we have to?” They rush you into the cath lab knowing there’s not much time before your heart will lose all circulation. They found you were having a heart attack and a vessel is 100% occluded. The MD, much like an artist creating their masterpiece, inserts a catheter through your femoral artery to access your heart, and swiftly inserts a stent in the occluded vessel. The team sighs in relief that they were able to prevent more damage from happening. Further tests will confirm the extent of the damage, but for now, you survived. Thank God. Oh wait, you don’t have health insurance.

I tell this real-life story because of an experience I had this week with a patient. He was your typical middle-aged family man holding two jobs. His concern interested me since… what DO you do? How do you tell someone that we saved their life while at the same time, handing them an invoice? With the stent he received, he needs to be on a medication called Plavix. This drug is extremely important to take daily for two years. Numerous studies have shown that not taking Plavix after insertion of a drug eluting stent (DES) can result in an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, re-stenosis, and death. The typical cost for Plavix is ~$4 a day. $4 A DAY! That equates to roughly $1,460 a year, or $2,920 for the total two years he NEEDS to be on it. In his case, that is approximately 10% of his yearly income that needs to be spent to literally stay alive.

A generic equivalent of clopidogrel bisulfate (Plavix) has been created, but Bristol-Myers Squibb has been fighting legal battles to make sure their name-brand drug is the only one available to patients. From AARP:

In the case of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Plavix, an antiplatelet, what began as a dispute with the generic manufacturer over patent infringement has become a proposed settlement that will keep the generic version off the market until 2011. Plavix racked up huge sales in 2005—$3.8 billion in the U.S. alone, with worldwide sales of nearly $6 billion.

Thankfully, many of us have health insurance to cover these costs. Just think though, how many patients like mine have been paying 10% of their annual income on the drug Plavix for Bristol-Myers Squibb to rack up $6 billion?

At my hospital, a social worker and financial advisor will work with patients in situations like these. However, I strongly believe in a healthcare system that will allow anyone that needs life-saving drugs such as Plavix to get them at little to no-cost. I am hoping that when Tim Walz is re-elected and Steve Sarvi kicks John Kline out, they will continue believing in the mission of universal healthcare. I am predicting that in 2008, there will be a DFL controlled Senate, House, and President. If so, we will see dramatic changes in our healthcare system.

Maybe if the above story happens to you, there will be no need to ask, “do we have to?”

—

I am starting my Master’s program at the end of the month. My plan is to receive my Master’s in Science of Nursing (M.S.N) with an education focus. Eventually, I would like to be a professor at a local community college. If anyone has some connections with a college that needs adjunct nursing professors, please forward any information along.

Also, continuing with my belief that everyone should have access to free healthcare, I just accepted a position at Planned Parenthood as a volunteer clinic nurse. If you are looking at donating to a great organization, look no further than Planned Parenthood. Here’s a link to their donation page.

It is great to see one of the Democrats main platforms when they took over Congress has now passed both the House and Senate.  The vote, pending administration approval, will increase aid to students in a few ways.  The maximum for Pell grants increases from $4,310 a year to $5,400 by the year 2012.  Federal loan interest rates have been slashed from 6.8% to 3.4% over the next four years. Democrats claim this will help students because it cuts $20 billion in government subsidies to banks that give out the loans, despite objections from Republicans and those in the banking industry to the cost-saving measure.  The vote passed 79-12 in the Senate and 292-97 in the House.  All 97 were Republicans.

“The bill also sets up a loan-forgiveness program for college graduates who work for 10 years in public service professions, such [as] teaching or nursing.” I am curious to see how this will pan out.  With the nursing shortage ever increasing, my hope is that recruitment will accelerate by hiring more educators and allowing an increased number of students to get through qualified programs.

College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, Roll Call 864.  Tim Walz, Jim Ramstad, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison, Collin Peterson, and James Oberstar all voted FOR the measure.  John Kline and Michele Bachmann voted AGAINST the savings for students.  In the Senate, both Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar voted FOR the measure.

 Source and quote from http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/5117233.html

Senate OKs legislation increasing aid to college students

WASHINGTON  — Congress sent President Bush legislation today to boost financial aid for college students by cutting some $20 billion in government subsidies to banks that make student loans.

Bush has indicated he will sign the legislation, despite previous objections to parts of the bill. Specifically, the administration has criticized a student loan interest-rate cut and a new loan-forgiveness program, among other things.

House Democrats had made the popular interest-rate cut a priority during the run-up to the last election in which they regained control of Congress.

The House voted 292-97 for the student aid bill today. Earlier in the day, the Senate approved the measure 79-12. All the lawmakers who voted against the bill were Republicans.

The boost in financial aid to college students was one of half a dozen domestic priorities Democrats set when they took control of Congress this year. Two others — an increase in the minimum wage and mandatory air and sea cargo inspections — already have become law, and a third, ethics reform, is awaiting Bush’s signature.

“This is an exciting day for parents and students who struggle to put together the financial means to pay for college,” said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chair of the House education committee.

The bill would increase the maximum Pell grant, which goes to the poorest college students, from $4,310 a year to $5,400 a year by 2012.

It also would cut interest rates on federally backed student loans to poor and middle-class students from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over the next four years.

California Rep. Buck McKeon, the leading Republican on the House education committee, criticized the rate cut. He said students will go back to paying the higher rate in four years or taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the cut to continue.

“What once was a campaign promise has become a trap that will ensnare either students or taxpayers,” McKeon said.

Democratic lawmakers say the roughly $20 billion in cuts to banks are aimed at excessive government subsidies to lenders. The subsidies were established to ensure that banks enter and stay in the college loan business.

Banking industry officials have objected to the cuts and have said they could adversely affect services provided to borrowers.

Nearly all of the cuts would go toward making college cheaper, but $750 million would be spent on federal budget deficit reduction. The legislation is part of a must-pass bill needed to meet spending targets in the federal budget.

The bill also sets up a loan-forgiveness program for college graduates who work for 10 years in public service professions, such teaching or nursing.

It also would cap annual payments for students at a percentage of their income, which lawmakers say would prevent people from having to pay back more than they can afford.

“Today, with this bill, we’re sending a message, and that message is that no qualified student will be denied a college education because of cost,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate education committee.

Once signed by the president, the legislation will begin taking effect Oct. 1.

Hat tip to Ollie at Bluestem for forwarding me the Colin Peterson (7th district) press release today. It is great to see another MnSCU school receive funding for their nursing department. The current nursing shortage needs to be addressed at the educational level. Through this grant, BSU’s goal will be to accept 250 nursing students a year, starting in four years. Currently, WSU accepts 300 students a year when the Rochester and Winona campuses are combined. MnSCU is responsible for graduating 80% of the state’s nurses so any additional funding for these programs will help our state combat the nursing shortage. We also need men! Official press release:

EDIT:  My original post stated an increase of 250 students a year, but that was incorrect.  250 is the projected enrollment figure for all four years of students both in the four-year track and two-year degree program combined.

Peterson helps secure grant for BSU nursing program expansion

(WASHINGTON, DC)—U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson announced that the Bemidji State University Nursing program has received a three-year, $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement funding for the Department of Nursing, help secure the director position for the four-year track, fund supplies and equipment, and assist with expanding the number of faculty.

“I couldn’t be more pleased that BSU was able to get the funding for this important program,” Peterson said. “This proposal to expand their nursing program was something that I was eager to support from day one.”

The DHHS grant comes through the Health Resources and Services Administration, and will allow BSU to begin their four-year nursing program in the fall of 2007. The award also will help the university to improve nursing education access for rural and American Indian students and prepare nurses for work in rural areas.

“If we educate our students in our rural communities, I think there’s an even greater chance that they’ll stay here,” Peterson said. “As our population ages, people living in our rural areas are going to rely more and more on a younger workforce to take care of them”

Dean of the College of Social and Natural Sciences Dr. Ranae Womack said, “Our thanks to Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson and his staff, and Dr. Kathleen Annette and the Indian Health Service Area Office for their support. I am also grateful for the efforts of Jeanne Larson and the significant contributions of Gwen Verchota and the faculty members of the Department of Nursing who have made this program possible. The support of our Academic Vice President/Provost, Joann Fredrickson, was critically important.”

The new baccalaureate program will augment BSU’s nationally accredited registered nurse completion program and will have a goal of enrolling a total of 250 nurses each year once the program has ramped up to full capacity in four years.

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I’ll be out of town for the weekend on a camping trip. Check out this new nurse networking site and add me while I’m gone, NursingLink.

Nursing… a diverse occupation with limitless opportunities for advancement.  I have been meaning to discuss more about the profession previously, but felt that my lack of “credentials” may hinder my message’s impact.  So what has changed?  I recently passed my state boards, certifying me as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the state of Minnesota.  The ecstatic feeling warrants me to write.  I feel I have now been issued a “go” to improve the profession, as well as the healthcare system in our nation.  The power of one person may be great, but spreading the message is greater.  I plan to delve into the issue of our healthcare crisis by using the power of the blogosphere.  I want to see IDHA! be a notable resource for those wanting information on change, and for those wanting to implement it.  I have focused on healthcare and nursing issues when lobbying at the Capitol during my tenure as student senator of Winona State University.  I’ve been introduced to organizations such as the MUHCC, who outlined a universal healthcare initiative to the state of Minnesota.  Then there is the MNA, who advocates for nurses and our patients which I will be active in very soon.  Being involved in the past was only the beginning.  As an RN, I pledge to do what I can to improve our healthcare system. 

With SiCKO’s recent release, the topic of universal healthcare has an emphatic message.  I feel it is inevitable that the next presidential election will have universal healthcare as either the #1 or #2 issue depending on how the Iraq debate evolves until then.  Seven Democratic candidates pledged working toward universal healthcare if elected.  As far as I have researched, “universal” healthcare was NOT guaranteed by any Republican candidate for the 2008 presidential election.  Most of the Republicans have endorsed a “market-based” healthcare system, creating consumers out of the everyday American.  I am not going to elaborate into market-based healthcare with this post, but be prepared for an inside look into each proposed system in future posts at IDHA! 

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DJ has been doing an excellent job covering Minnesota politics, especially the whole controversy surrounding Luke Hellier.  I served in the student organization (MSUSA) which endorsed candidates Ezra Kazee and Adam Weigold.  I can personally attest to the quality of both men who serve students at MnSCU schools with passion.  To see our Governor show interest into a candidate not even at a MnSCU school displays the lack of commitment to the reason a student representative serves on the board of trustees in the first place.  Students need proper representation from someone who knows what they are going through and has a record for doing everything they can for student interests.  Adam and Ezra both fit the profile, Luke does not. 

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Future topics I will be covering:  Steve Sarvi, possible DFL candidate for CD 2?  Kip Sullivan, voice for universal healthcare.  DM&E, not finished yet.  Jeff Flaten for 28B! Tim Walz news/press releases.  And more!