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General Assembly Substitute Joint
Resolution No. 3
January Session, 2019
RESOLUTION MEMORIALI ZING CONGRESS TO REC OGNIZE
WOMEN IN THE CADET N URSE CORPS DURING WORLD W AR II AS
VETERANS.
Resolved by this Assembly:
WHEREAS, after the United States entered World War II, the 1
demand for nurses increased dramatically, outstripping supply and 2
creating a nursing shortage; and 3
WHEREAS, in order to alleviate this critical shortage, a plan was 4
conceived to accelerate the training of nursing students and allow such 5
nursing students to serve during such training; and 6
WHEREAS, on March 29, 1943, Congresswoman Frances P. Bolton 7
of Ohio introduced a bill in the United States House of Representatives 8
to establish a special government program to facilitate the training of 9
nurses, which bill was passed unanimously by both chambers of 10
Congress, was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 11
June 15, 1943, and became effective as Public Law 74 on July 1, 1943; 12
and 13
WHEREAS, the Bolton Act of 1943 created the Cadet Nurse Corps to 14
be administered by the United States Public Health Service and 15
supervised by the Division of Nurse Education, which division 16
reported to the Surgeon General of the United States; and 17 Substitute Senate Joint Resolution No. 3
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WHEREAS, over one thousand nursing schools throughout the 18
United States joined the Cadet Nurse program during its existence, 19
facilitating the training of over 125,000 nurses during World War II 20
and greatly increasing the wartime supply of nurses and care for 21
American citizens on both the home and war fronts; and 22
WHEREAS, by replacing graduate nurses who had already entered 23
into active duty in the armed forces of the United States, the Cadet 24
Nurse Corps prevented the collapse of nursing care in hospitals 25
throughout the United States and service members returned from war 26
to a strong health care system and received necessary and quality care 27
from Cadet Nurses; and 28
WHEREAS, having demonstrated their skill, devotion and 29
patriotism, members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps deserve 30
the utmost admiration and appreciation of the nation; and 31
WHEREAS, a former member of the Cadet Nurse Corps is not 32
included in the United States government's definition of what 33
constitutes a "veteran", and accordingly such former member is not 34
eligible to receive certain veterans' benefits administered by the United 35
States Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies; and 36
WHEREAS, recognizing former members of the Cadet Nurse Corps 37
as veterans would be an appropriate and warranted gesture of 38
commendation and gratitude to women whose service and dedication 39
to their communities and to their nation deserves such a gesture. 40
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Connecticut 41
General Assembly hereby petitions the United States Congress to 42
amend federal law to recognize as veterans those women who served 43
honorably during World War II as members of the Cadet Nurse Corps; 44
and 45
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the clerk s of the House of 46
Representatives and the Senate cause a copy of this resolution be 47
transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of 48 Substitute Senate Joint Resolution No. 3
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Representatives, the President of the United States Senate and all 49
members of the Connecticut congressional delegation. 50
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
At the end of the resolution, the paragraph beginning with the phrase
"BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED" was added for consistency with
standard drafting conventions.
VA Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO