Furthermore H1C nurses may not comprise more than 33 percent of a hospitals registered nurses. and these hospitals may not contract out any H1C nurses to other hospitals. The legislation before us. H.R. 1285. will reauthorize the H1C nurse program for 3 more years. The HIC visa category is vital to Texas hospitals like McAllen Medical Center and Mercy Health System. located in Laredo. TX. The United States is facing a critical nursing shortage in the coming years. and this small but significant program is essential to our efforts to recruit more nurses to the United States. I believe this legislation strikes a balance between the critical need for nurses in certain shortage areas while protecting the wages and working conditions of U.S. citizen nurses.