Research Paper on:
H.R. 724/Nursing Education Act of 2009

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
will service to "increase the number of qualified nursing, and for other purposes" (Library of Congress, 2009). Under the section "Findings; Purpose," the bill indicates the findings of Congress that  the "nursing shortage has a detrimental impact on the quality of care patients receive in health care settings and plays a role in driving up health care costs" (Library of  Congress, 2009). As the wording of HR 724 indicates, this bill specifically addresses the need for more qualified nursing faculty. The nursing shortage affects every aspect of healthcare  working environments, as nurses become overworked and stressed when these environments are short-staffed. However, it is axiomatic that in order to have an adequate supply of qualified nursing in the  work force, they have to be trained and this requires a sufficient number of nursing faculty members. Nursing degree programs to turn qualified applicants away because of a lack of  nursing faculty. This bill remains stalled in committee, which is the first step of the legislative process, as it was referred to he House Committee on Energy and Commerce  for consideration after it was introduced to Congress (GovTrack, 2009a). Bills begin the process of becoming law by first being considered by one or more congressional committees, which they report  back to Congress on the proposed legislation, either favorably or unfavorably (GovTrack, 2009b). They are first considered in the House and "enter Senate committee only after being passed by the  House and received by the Senate" (GovTrack, 2009b). Committees typically do not allow the public to have information about their internal processes or conclusions. Versions of this bill have been  previously introduced in the last two sessions of Congress and subsequently died in committee. Representative Ed Pastor (D-Arizona) is the sponsoring Congressman who introduced the bill. Pastor explains that