All Americans must have access to quality, affordable health care. But today, surging costs are eating away at coverage, and more people are uninsured than ever before. There are no easy answers when it comes to making our health care system work for everyone—but we can begin by making sure our network of health care professionals is second to none.

Nurses are the backbone of our health care system. No one is more dedicated. No one works harder. And anyone who has spent time in any hospital knows the high quality of care they provide.

For nearly 18 years in Congress, I have been proud to represent Yale University School of Nursing, a remarkable institution whose top priority is educating great nurses at the master's- and doctoral-degree levels. In the process, the school harnesses the talent and compassion of the faculty and students to continually redefine the field and improve patient care.

As our population ages and medical costs rise, we are going to have to call on that innovative spirit to face the major health care challenges that lie ahead. And as these trends continue, we will have to attract many more dedicated nurses to join the effort. Nationwide, our nursing workforce is already the largest group of health care providers in the world. Yet, we will still need 1.2 million new and replacement nurses by 2014. In 2005 Connecticut faced a 20 percent shortage of registered nurses.

By 2010 this shortage is projected to increase to 33 percent, and by 2020 the shortage is expected to reach 57 percent.

Of course, underserved communities feel the impact most immediately. That is why programs like Yale University's HAVEN Free Clinic are so important. Its mission is so simple yet vital at its core: ensuring that our communities have a health care system that makes certain all people are cared for. As a member of Congress, I share that goal.

Places like the HAVEN Free Clinic have shown what is possible when we work to make quality, consistent health care available at the community level. But, to bring initiatives like this to scale across the nation, our government must reaffirm its commitment to those nurses who stand on the front lines of any effort to reach patients as humans, not consumers. Government has a role to play—it is part of a larger obligation to make sure no one slips through the cracks.

And that begins with adequate resources. From my seat on the House Appropriations Labor Health and Human Services Subcommittee, I am fighting for the programs we know can make a big difference. With our 2009 funding bill we would provide $174 million— a 12 percent increase over last year—to address the nursing shortage through nurse education programs.

For nursing students committed to serving in the neediest facilities, we must provide the resources for them to pay for their education—scholarships, loan repayment, and institutional support. To make that possible we would reject the President's proposed cuts and boost funding by another $69 million to continue the important work of nurses in underserved areas for disadvantaged populations.

At the same time, wherever nurses are working, we must ensure they are supported in their work. In hospitals, that means adequate staffing levels to ensure quality patient care. And while this administration has ruled against nurses recently in the Kentucky River Case, we must push back. I have co-sponsored the RESPECT Act, which would correct the unfair classification of nurses as "supervisors." This would ensure that skilled and experienced workers who sometimes instruct their co-workers do not lose collective bargaining rights.

I believe that in the year ahead, the time will finally come when our nation can truly make a national commitment to ensuring that every American has access to quality, affordable health care. We can get there with the leadership and guidance of America's nurses, who we will be counting on to lead the way as innovators, mentors, and teachers to us all.

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