Federal legislation introduced in the 111th Congress that relates to or affects the defense of professional integrity.
| Bill | Description | Status |
| S.301: Physician Payments Sunshine Act of 2009 | This bill would require physicians to identify their relationships with manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals, or medical supplies to provide greater transparency in the medical profession and to identify and make known potential conflicts of interest. | Referred to committee |
| S.1031: National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act; H.R. 2273:Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2009 | Unmanageable nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals lead to sicker, less satisfied patients and overworked healthcare professionals. These bills would establish minimum nurse-to-patient ratio requirements in hospitals and enable nurses to give patients the care they deserve. | Referred to committee |
| H.R.1320: Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2009 | Federal Advisory Committees include more than 60,000 people on approximately 900 committees. They are a primary vehicle to involve professionals in the development of federal programs, policies, regulations, and standards. This bill would amend the Federal Advisory Committee Act with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the Federal Advisory Committee System. See the PftPI Statement on Federal Advisory Committees. | Reported by committee |
| H.R.2381: The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act; S. 1788: The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act | This bill would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop and implement a standard that will eliminate manual lifting of patients by direct-care registered nurses and other health care workers through the use of mechanical devices. The legislation will also require health care facilities to develop a plan to comply with the standard (with input from RNs), provides protection for RNs through refusal of assignment and whistleblower provisions, and requires the Secretary to perform audits. | Referred to committee |
| H.R.2730: Student-to-School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act of 2009 | This bill would lower the nurse-to-student ratio in public schools in an effort to allow nurses to maintain the health and safety of students to the best of their ability and to impact positively the overall learning environment. | Referred to committee |
| H.R.2067:The Protecting America’s Workers Act | This bill would expand whistleblower protections to employees who report any injury, illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, agent of the employer, safety and health committee, or employee safety and health representative, with a goal of helping individuals to speak freely about government waste and misconduct. This bill would also expand Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) coverage to state, local, and federal employees and increase penalties for certain violators. | Referred to committee |
| H.R.2730: Student-to-School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act of 2009 | This bill would lower the nurse-to-student ratio in public schools in an effort to allow nurses to maintain the health and safety of students to the best of their ability and to impact positively the overall learning environment. | Referred to committee |
| S. 372 and H.R. 1507: The Whistleblower Protection Act of 2009 | This bill to amend chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, to clarify the disclosures of information protected from prohibited personnel practices, require a statement in nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements that such policies, forms, and agreements conform with certain disclosure protections, provide certain authority for the Special Counsel, and for other purposes. | Referred to House committee; S.372 was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders as of 12/3/2009 |
| H.R.2067: Protecting America’s Workers Act | This bill would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for certain violators, and for other purposes. | Referred to committee |
