we should have a committee or board that is representative of the nursing profession as a whole and it should be at work now ... Within three weeks, on 29 July 1940, representatives of the national nursing community gathered in New York City, under the umbrella of the American Nurses Association, where they formed the Nursing Council on National Defense. In its first order of business, the council concentrated on surveying nursing resources and securing federal funding to expand nursing educational opportunities. The survey results indicated that 100,000 nurses were eligible for military service, and that most nursing schools were ill-equipped to enlarge their instructional or housing facilities. The council submitted its federal aid request for fiscal year 1 July 1941 to 30 June 1942 to the U.S. commissioner of education, who approved it and moved it on to the Bureau of the Budget. The Congress then enacted and funded the Nurse Training Program, which assisted in the education of 12,000 students at 309 nursing schools. Through the program, 3,800 inactive nurses received refresher courses and 4,800 graduate nurses received postgraduate training. By the end of the fiscal year, 47,500 students were enrolled in nursing schools but this did not meet the country's demands. Nurses could not be trained quickly enough to keep pace with the country's civilian and military needs. During 1942 the Office of War Information tried to mobilize interest in the nursing profession, using prime-time radio advertisements to focus their broadcasts on interviews, dramatic sketches, and spot announcements urging young women to join the nursing profession. While these efforts were helpful, they did not meet expectations. The supporters of the nurse training programs recommended doubling federal aid for basic nursing education in the fiscal year ending 30 June 1943. Representative Frances P. Bolton of Ohio, a longtime advocate of nursing, supported the proposed increase in federal aid and informed the Congress that further aid requests for nurse training programs were likely. Creation of the program On 29 March 1943 Bolton took the initiative and introduced H.R. 2326, a bill to create and fund a training program for nurses. The Senate added an amendment that prohibited discrimination based upon race, color, or creed. At the bill's legislative hearings, hospital groups explained how distressed nursing care in civilian hospitals had become. Support for the bill also came in the form of letters and telegrams. The bill passed both houses