A new model for nursing licensure which will weaken state licensure standards has been proposed by the National Council for State Boards of Nursing. This proposal has come forward in the absence of discussion and debate within the nursing profession and without supporting data to document the need for a drastic change in licensure. Nursing organizations, concerned with both consumer safety and the preservation of the standards of nursing practice, are questioning whether this model is acceptable, appropriate, affordable and workable. Specific policy implications and concerns are discussed, and the policy criteria adopted by the ANA House of Delegates in June, 1998, are presented.