Deborah Burger, R.N., President of the California Nurses Association

Deborah Burger is the President of the California Nurses Association. On October 18, 2004, she spoke out on behalf of CNA against the then-pending Proposition 71, the Stem Cell Initiative.

Today, with Proposition 71 now part of the California Constitution and California State Senator Deborah Ortiz' SB 18, the "Proposition 71 Public Accountability Act," itself now pending in Sacramento, California Politics Today spoke again with Ms. Burger to find out how she and the CNA view Senator Ortiz' efforts.

Above all, Ms. Burger believes that it may be too late to make any changes in the way Proposition 71 is administered, based on provisions in the law itself barring any such changes.

During the interview, Ms. Burger pointed out that Senator Ortiz had proposed a stem cell funding plan previous to the qualification of Proposition 71, although it called for spending far less than the $3 billion appropriated by the subsequently-approved Stem Cell Initiative. After Senator Ortiz's version of a stem cell research program for California failed to win approval in the State Legislature, Proposition 71 supporters qualified and passed their measure, which contained its own set of rules for its application, according to the CNA president.

Ms. Burger pointed out that, starting in July, 2005, real cuts in real programs to deliver health care to Californian using existing therapies will occur because of the need to use limited state funds to pay off the general revenue bonds being used to fund the stem cell research authorized by Proposition 71.

Nevertheless, Ms. Burger is still hoping that something useful will come out of Proposition 71, saying that if it doesn't, then California will have "just bought the biggest case load of snake oil that can be hoisted upon a public."

She also mentioned that if interest rates go up, then the pay-back cost for the $3 billion stem cell research project could amount to even more than the $6 billion it is expected it will cost with current interest rates.

The interview concluded with the CNA president saying that she was planning to meet with Senator Ortiz to talk over these issues. Ms. Burger suggested that a better way than legislating to improve the administration of Proposition 71 would be to propose the changes directly to the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee (ICOC) and ask them to implement them themselves.

She said that she thought that the ICOC "could" make these changes. "Is it likely?" she asked rhetorically. "I don't know. I'm still skeptical…and cautious" about that, she said.

To listen to the recorded comments of California Nurses Association President Deborah Burger about SB 18 and the issues it raises, click here.