AACN Concerned That the President's FY 2009 Budget Request Will Prolong the Nursing and Nurse Facult...( Targeted cuts of $46 million to t...),Health

Targeted cuts of $46 million to the Nursing Workforce Development Programs will stifle nursing school's efforts to educate more graduate-level nurses and faculty

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) expressed its concern that proposed cuts to nursing education programs contained in President Bush's FY 2009 budget request would reverse the progress made by federal legislators to address the nation's nursing shortage. Despite the proposed increases to most Nursing Workforce Development Programs (Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act [PSA]), the President's budget would reduce funding levels by $46.2 million from the previous year.

Last year, the President requested a 30% reduction in funding for Nursing Workforce Development Programs, which included the elimination of the Advanced Education Nursing (AEN) grants. However, Congress recognized the dire need to sustain Title VIII programs and boosted the funding level from $149.7 million in FY 2007 to $156.05 million in FY 2008. Congress also demonstrated their understanding of the nurse faculty shortage as they appropriated additional funds to the two Title VIII programs dedicated to preparing future nurse educators. AACN's more than 620 member institutions truly appreciate the commitment Congress has made to supporting nursing education and particularly the preparation of nurse faculty.

For FY 2009, the President again has proposed a reduction to the funding allocation for Title VIII by 30%. This is a $46.2 million decrease from FY 2008. Similar to last year, the President is calling for the elimination of AEN grants, which provided individual traineeships and programmatic support to 13,877 graduate nursing students in FY 2006. AEN grants support programs that prepare graduate-level nurses to be primary care providers such as nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists, as well as nurse faculty. Given the
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