The National Nurse Redux. On February 4, U.S. representative Eddie Johnson (D-TX) introduced HR 485, the National Nurse Act of 2013, which resurrects the concept of a full-time position for an RN within the surgeon general's office. Were the law to be enacted, the chief nurse officer of the Public Health Service would be the first National Nurse for Public Health. Proponents say this appointee could initiate a nationwide shift toward prevention and improved health outcomes. Similar bills introduced in 2006, 2010, and 2011, however, failed to progress in the legislature. As we went to press, the prognosis for getting this bill out of committee was 2%, and the chance it will be passed was nil, according to the Web site GovTrak. The bill's progress can be tracked at http://bit.ly/WI0Z9o.