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 of the Congress by unanimous vote on 15 June 1943 and became Public Law 74 on 1 July 1943; with the title of Nurse Training Act of 1943 but commonly referred to as the Bolton act. It provided for the training of nurses for the armed forces, government and civilian hospitals, health agencies, and war industries through grants to the institutions providing the training. It also contained a provision requiring that those trained under the act would comprise a uniformed body but without military status.