H.R. 2759 prescribes that any hospitals which seek to hire foreign nurses under these provisions must meet the following criteria: One. shall be located in a health professional shortage area. two. have at least 190 acute care beds. three. have a Medicare population of 35 percent. and. four. have a Medicaid population of at least 28 percent. As one who has always fought for the American worker. I can assure you and all those who express concern that this proposal does not have a detrimental effect on American nurses. My legislation sets a cap on new visas that may be issued each year. The legislation also provides processing requirements that require employers to attest that the hiring of foreign nurses would not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of registered nurses. The Secretary of Labor will oversee this process and provide penalties for noncompliance.