During a normal federal budget process, the President’s budget is submitted to Congress where committees of jurisdiction amend and pass it out of each house of Congress. The settled upon number sets a dollar amount that the congressional appropriators can use to spend on government programs and priorities.

However, the new normal is that the President, the House and the Senate submit budget proposals of their own, often with numbers not even close to the others. The budget then becomes a statement of policy priorities and not a working document.

Since there is no longer a “normal” process, the government has been funded by continuing resolutions (CR) or Omnibuses.

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Within days after the tragic events that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT that took the lives of 26 innocent students and faculty, including 20 children, America seemed ready to take on this issue of gun violence and mental health in a way that hadn’t been seen since the mid-nineties.

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On Wednesday, April 24, 2013, the enhanced National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (CLAS) were released. A series of events were held in Washington, DC in order to celebrate and highlight their release. These events included:

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On April 8, 2013, the American Nurses Association (ANA) provided detailed comments on key developing quality issues, to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ANA has devoted significant time and resources to providing the nursing viewpoint in the development of quality initiatives, as a member of the Measure Application Partnership and a partner in the National Priorities Partnership.

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State legislative sessions vary, either extremely short or virtually unlimited and the number of bills introduced ranges from 300 to a high of more than 6,000; the latter number is similar to what Congress witnesses during a two year session. More than a handful of states alternate years between considering policy versus addressing the budget. Yet, regardless of the differences or whether policy-makers are leaning left or right or somewhere in between, there are common trends across the country related to legislation impacting nurses and the profession.

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ANA’s annual lobby day provides a unique opportunity for all nurses, from student nurses to APRNS, to speak with one collective voice on the issues that matter most. Whether you are in DC or across the country, mark this day as your chance to reach out to your elected officials and tell YOUR story about key issues such as safe staffing, Title VIII funding, safe patient handling, and home health. This is a great day for veteran nurses to share their expertise and experience with Members of Congress and for new nurses or students to dive into the advocacy world and see what it’s all about. No matter what stage in your career you may be, or what political party you ascribe to, we need your voice!

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