REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION – SILVER SPRING, MD – The American Nurses Association (ANA) and its Political Action Committee (ANA-PAC) are working to ensure that nursing’s perspective is considered in policy decisions made on Capitol Hill. Each election cycle, ANA-PAC endorses candidates who have demonstrated strong support for nursing and health care issues and will best serve the interests of nurses and their patients. Current ANA-PAC endorsements include:
- Mazie Hirono (D-HI), candidate for U.S. Senate: If she wins this election, Hirono will be the first Asian-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate. As someone with a long history of advocating for her constituents and the nursing profession, Hirono would continue to fight for access to quality, affordable health care in the Senate.
- Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI-01): Hanabusa has made protecting Social Security and Medicare a priority during her time in Congress. Hanabusa is a strong advocate for her constituents who understands that nursing plays a vital role in the health care delivery system.
- Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI-02): A veteran who resigned her seat in the Hawaii State Legislature to serve with her unit in the Middle East, Gabbard has always been proud to serve her country. Not only was Gabbard the youngest person ever to serve in the legislature, but at age 19 she co-founded Healthy Hawai‘i Coalition (HHC), a non-profit grassroots organization with the mission to protect the environment and improve individual and community health.
“Hawaii residents are lucky to have three great women running to represent them in Washington, D.C. These candidates all understand the pivotal role that nurses play in today’s health care system,” said ANA-PAC Chair Faith Jones MSN, RN, NEA-BC. “Mazie Hirono, Colleen Hanabusa, and Tulsi Gabbard will fight in Congress to ensure access to affordable and quality health care, and ANA-PAC is proud to support them.”
ANA-PAC makes endorsement decisions based on candidate interviews, communication with ANA’s constituent and state nurses associations, campaign information, and the candidate’s voting record on ANA’s priority issues. For more information about ANA-PAC, click here.
ANA encourages nurses to volunteer for political campaigns of their choice, Democrat, Republican, Independent, or other, as part of Nurses Campaign Activity Night on Wednesday, Oct. 17.
Volunteering on a campaign provides opportunities to advance some of nursing’s core issues, including safe patient handling, safe staffing, ensuring that advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) can practice to the full extent of their license and education, and securing access to safe, quality health care for all.
ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the interests of the nation’s 3.1 million registered nurses through its constituent and state nurses associations and its organizational affiliates. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. Please visit www.nursingworld.org for more information.