CT SJ00025

Connecticut General Assembly petitions the U.S. Congress to amend federal law to recognize women who served in the Cadet Nurse Corps during World War II as veterans, making them eligible for veterans' benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies

The Cadet Nurse Corps was established by the Bolton Act of 1943 (Public Law 74), signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 15, 1943, to address a critical nursing shortage caused by the nation's entry into World War II

Over 1,000 nursing schools participated in the program, training more than 125,000 nurses who replaced graduate nurses serving in active duty and prevented the collapse of civilian hospital care across the United States

Former Cadet Nurse Corps members are currently excluded from the federal government's definition of "veteran" and are therefore ineligible for veterans' benefits, despite serving under a program administered by the U.S. Public Health Service and supervised by the Surgeon General

The resolution was introduced during the January 2017 session and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, co-sponsored by Sen. Osten of the 19th District