On the evening of July 15, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies marked up its FY 2011 appropriations bill. The mark up resulted in a $292 million proposed budget for Title VIII Nurse Workforce Development Programs or $24.7 million more than our original "ask" of $267.3 million. A full committee mark up has not yet been scheduled and with the House in recess until September 13, it will be a while until we know the outcome of the committee's deliberations.

The corresponding Senate Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its version of the FY 2011 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill on July 22. The full committee quickly followed suit on July 29 with an appropriations level of $292,276,000 for Title VIII in FY 2011. In its press release, the committee noted, "Over 50,000 students were turned away from nurse training programs last year, largely due to a lack of faculty. The bill more than doubles the resources available to provide loan forgiveness to nurses who agree to teach, from $24.9 million in fiscal year 2010 to $53.3 million in fiscal year 2011."

On June 22, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) released the annual California Nurse Education Initiative report and announced that, since the state launched the Initiative five years ago, the number of RN graduates in the state increased by 71.6 percent. The Initiative began as a five-year, $90 million public-private partnership designed to expand nursing education capacity, faculty development, and student support services. Last year, the program was extended with a new five-year, $60 million partnership.

During the first five years of the program, California's nursing workforce increased from 589 RNs per 100,000 people in 2005 to 653 RNs per 100,000 people. (The figure is still below the national average of 825 RNs per 100,000 people.) In addition, since 2005, California has seen an expansion of nursing education programs, as well as an increase in the number of students enrolled in such programs.

On July 2, 2010, Pennsylvania governor Edward G. Rendell (D) signed into law Senate Bill 174 establishing the Pennsylvania Center for Health Careers as a permanent part of the state's workforce development system. According to Governor Rendell, "Having a skilled health care workforce means more Pennsylvanians can receive high quality health care — now, and in the future. . . . Senate Bill 174, sponsored by Senator Tina Tartaglione, will help us to continue the center's already successful efforts, ensuring its ability to focus on short- and long-term health care workforce challenges."

Created by Governor Rendell in 2004, the Pennsylvania Center for Health Careers works closely with employers, educators, and workforce professionals to expand the capacity of Pennsylvania's nursing education system, improve workforce retention in the health care industry, increase the number of qualified individuals to fill positions in allied health professions, and improve the career quality of direct care workers.