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0:50

Susan Collins

70:07 - 70:57

"Maine continues to face a serious shortage of nurses, particularly in our rural communities where hospitals struggle to recruit and retain staff. This shortage is driven by a severe shortage of nursing faculty. Our bill would help to strengthen the nursing workforce by reauthorizing critical programs that support nursing education, expand access to clinical training, and help schools prepare more students for careers in nursing."

“Maine continues to face a serious shortage of nurses, particularly in our rural communities where hospitals struggle to recruit and retain staff. This shortage is driven by a severe shortage of nursing faculty. Our bill would help to strengthen the nursing workforce by reauthorizing critical programs that support nursing education, expand access to clinical training, and help schools prepare more students for careers in nursing.”
Speaker
Susan Collins
Timestamp
70:07 – 70:57
Source
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Murkowski): Business meeting to consider S.2355, to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for hospital and insurer price transparency, S.4189, to reduce the price of insulin and provide for patient protections with respect to the cost of insulin, S.4974, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to food safety, S.5026, to require warning labels on sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, foods and beverages containing high-intensity sweeteners, ultra-processed foods, and foods high in nutrients of concern, such as added sugar, saturated fat, or sodium, to restrict junk food advertising to children, S.1414, to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide that clinical studies required for licensure of biological products as biosimilar shall not be required to include the assessment of immunogenicity, pharmacodynamics, or comparative clinical efficacy, S.3788, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require drug labeling to include original manufacturer and supply chain information, S.3794, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to further regulate compounding pharmacies and outsourcing facilities, S.494, to establish a national plan to coordinate research on epilepsy, S.4110, to revise and extend health workforce programs under title VII of the Public Health Service Act, S.1874, to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain nursing workforce development programs, and S.380, to improve obstetric emergency care.
Community
Alaska News
Captured at
July 22, 2026

From the transcript

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Maine continues to face a serious shortage of nurses, particularly in our rural communities where hospitals struggle to recruit and retain staff. This shortage is driven by a severe— a severe shortage of nursing faculty. Our bill would help to strengthen the nursing workforce by reauthorizing critical programs that support nursing education, expand access to clinical training, and help schools prepare more students for careers in nursing. These programs are essential to addressing the workforce shortage facing hospitals in rural areas across our country.

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The Senate HELP Committee voted Wednesday to favorably report eleven health bills, including a $35 monthly insulin cap for commercially insured patients and nursing workforce measures with direct implications for rural Alaska communities facing persistent provider shortages.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
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Cover image for article: Rural birth and nursing bills clear a Senate panel
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