I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4903 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of the National 
Nurse. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 8, 2006 
Mrs. CAPPS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an 
Office of the National Nurse. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Nurse Act 
of 2006’’. 
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SEC. 2. AMENDING PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT WITH RE-
SPECT TO THE OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL 
NURSE. 
Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following section: 
‘‘SEC. 1711. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL NURSE. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab-
lished within the Office of Public Health and Science an 
office to be known as the Office of the National Nurse, 
which shall be headed by an individual serving in a posi-
tion to be known as the National Nurse. The Secretary 
shall appoint a registered nurse to serve in such position. 
The Secretary shall carry out this section acting through 
the National Nurse. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The National Nurse shall— 
‘‘(1) carry out activities to encourage individ-
uals to enter the nursing profession, including pro-
viding education on the distinct role of nurses in the 
health professions and examining nursing issues that 
would increase public safety, such as issues relating 
to staff levels, working conditions, and patient input; 
‘‘(2) carry out activities to encourage nurses to 
become educators in schools of nursing; 
‘‘(3) carry out activities to promote the public 
health, including encouraging nurses to be volun-
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teers to projects that educate the public on achieving 
better health; and 
‘‘(4) conduct media campaigns and make per-
sonal appearances for purposes of paragraphs (1) 
through (3). 
‘‘(c) ANNUAL PRIORITIES ON ACHIEVING BETTER 
HEALTH.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year the Na-
tional Nurse shall designate four methods of achiev-
ing better health that will be given priority by the 
National Nurse in carrying out subsection (b)(3) 
(referred to in this subsection as ‘annual health pri-
orities’). The National Nurse shall designate such 
priorities in consultation with the Surgeon General 
of the Public Health Service, the heads of the agen-
cies of such Service, the States, and organizations 
that represent health professionals. 
‘‘(2) COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out sub-
section (b)(3), the National Nurse shall make 
grants to nonprofit private entities to carry out 
projects for the purpose of educating the public 
on the annual health priorities, including out-
reach activities in settings such as schools, sen-
ior centers, and libraries. 
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‘‘(B) 
STATE
COORDINATORS; 
NURSE 
TEAMS.—In making grants under subparagraph 
(A), the National Nurse shall provide for the 
following with respect to a State and particular 
communities in which activities under the grant 
will be carried out: 
‘‘(i) The designation of an individual 
to coordinate such activities within the 
State (referred to in this paragraph as the 
‘State coordinator’). 
‘‘(ii) Under the guidance of the State 
coordinator, the formation of teams of 
nurses who volunteer to provide the edu-
cation referred to subparagraph (A), which 
teams are diverse and representative in 
terms of educational level in the field of 
nursing and in terms of racial and ethnic 
minority groups. 
‘‘(iii) The collection in such commu-
nities, in accordance with criteria of the 
National Nurse, of data relating to the an-
nual health priorities. 
‘‘(C) MEDIA
CAMPAIGNS.—The National 
Nurse shall ensure that media campaigns under 
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subsection (b)(4) include media campaigns re-
garding the annual health priorities. 
‘‘(D) EVALUATIONS.—The National Nurse 
shall, directly or through awards of grants or 
contracts, evaluate projects under subparagraph 
(A) to determine the extent to which the 
projects have been successful in carrying out 
the purpose described in such subparagraph. 
‘‘(E) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.— 
The National Nurse shall— 
‘‘(i) disseminate information obtained 
in the evaluations under subparagraph 
(D); and 
‘‘(ii) disseminate such other informa-
tion obtained pursuant to projects under 
subparagraph (A) as the National Nurse 
determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 
each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010.’’. 
Æ 
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