Davis proposes bipartisan Nurse Workforce Protection Act

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) on May 12 introduced a bipartisan bill to protect the employment status of America’s nurses.

“Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare delivery system,” Rep. Davis said, “and if a provider is receiving federal funding, they should not be furloughing nurses.”

Rep. Davis sponsored the Nurse Workforce Protection Act of 2020, H.R. 6809, with lead cosponsor U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). The lawmakers are co-chairs of the House Nursing Caucus.

If enacted, H.R. 6809 would prohibit healthcare providers that receive federal funding through the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund from reducing employment or compensation for certain nurses employed by the provider, according to the text of the bill.

“Congress is providing $175 billion to our healthcare providers and they should be using this funding, in part, to maintain staff,” said Rep. Davis. “This bill simply asks the same of healthcare providers as we have of the small businesses participating in the Paycheck Protection Program: if you’re receiving taxpayer dollars that will not be paid back, you should be using it to keep people employed.”

H.R. 6809 also would require that to be eligible for federal funding, a healthcare provider must retain at least 75 percent of its nurses and cannot reduce their pay or hours by more than 25 percent, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s office.

Additionally, the bill would prohibit providers from forcing nurses to take paid or unpaid leave, according to the summary.

“Budgets should not be balanced on the backs of these vital workers who are saving people’s lives. This is the very reason Congress created the Provider Relief Fund in the CARES Act,” said Rep. Gabbard.

H.R. 6809 has been referred to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.