There has been an amendment offered to the Senate’s CIR that will add a nurse bridge provision to the CIR. This is SA 1409. The amendment was offered by Sen. Hutchison and Sen. Schumer. Sen. Durbin immediately added a second amendment that tacks on a training fee of $1500, much like the H-1 training fee. The fee is intended to help the US develop its own nurses.
All of this is great news.
Of course the Senate’s CIR is looking deader by the minute. We should know by the day’s end if it will succeed or fail. Still, the Hutchison amendment is great news and shows that there is still a lot of momentum for bridge legislation.