A New Political Landscape
The FNHP's legislative priorities for the new Congress

With a new administration and a new Congress beginning the business of passing laws that will affect working families everywhere, the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals' legislative agenda reflects the union's continuing battle for safer working conditions and better patient care. Though priorities may shift as the political landscape takes shape, here are the union's top priorities for consideration by the 107th Congress.

Mandatory overtime
The excessive use of mandatory overtime as a staffing tool has undermined the quality of patient care and driven nurses from the profession. Last year, a bill banning mandatory overtime for health care workers passed both houses of the New Jersey Legislature with strong bipartisan support. Federal action is needed to ensure this right for all health care workers.

Safe staffing
Finding a way to ensure safe nurse staffing levels in acute care institutions is an urgent priority for nurses and patients alike. At the state level, California legislators passed a bill requiring the state to set minimum staffing ratios. Other strategies might include funding research to establish a basis for staffing ratios and requiring hospitals to collect information on nurse staffing.

Patients' bill of rights
A patients' bill of rights may, once again, be on the federal agenda. It's important that strong whistleblower protection for health professionals be part of any legislation; this would ensure that health professionals who are advocating for their patients are protected from reprisal by their employers.

Information disclosure
One way to allow consumers to choose quality health care is to make sure information enabling comparisons between hospitals is available to the public. Legislation requiring disclosure would aid consumers and purchasers and would provide data needed to establish links between inadequate staffing and poor care.

Nurse shortage
The United States is in the early stages of what may be a significant and long-lasting nurse shortage. This could mean an increased effort to lower professional standards and requirements to enable other workers to take on nursing duties. Such changes would seriously undermine the quality of patient care. To retain our current nurse work force, we need to address problems such as mandatory overtime and short-staffing. In order to recruit new nurses, we need to expand funds for nurse education and scholarships.

Medical errors
The Institute of Medicine released a dramatic report two years ago on the incidence of patient injury and death due to preventable medical errors. We support the IOM's recommendations, which include establishing a Center for Patient Safety, developing a nationwide reporting system, extending peer review protections to allow errors to be discussed and reported without fear of legal liability, and setting performance standards on patient safety.

Expanding access
Double-digit increases in health premiums are likely to lead to a rise in the number of uninsured at a time when this population is already unacceptably high. Among other negative effects, this would add to the stress of hospitals and other health providers who already are being asked to deliver more uncompensated care. A real solution to the problem may require large-scale systemic change, but incremental steps such as expansions of existing S-CHIP programs will alleviate some of the pressure and provide health care coverage for many who are currently without it.

Academic medical centers
The question of who will pay for medical research and doctor training in an industry driven by market incentives has become increasingly important as academic medical centers face pressure to shift their missions in order to remain economically viable. The mission of these institutions must be protected and adequate funding provided to ensure continuing quality in America's health care system.

Child immunization
We have the ability to prevent many serious childhood illnesses but not the funding to guarantee that our children receive these protections. Many youngsters still enter kindergarten without having received the required immunizations. We support the expansion of funding for immunization programs so all children will be protected.