The Bush administration's new rule permitting America's nursing homes to hire less trained, lower-paid workers to feed residents who can't feed themselves has sparked a heated debate among lawmakers and consumer groups.

In announcing the change, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said the hiring of feeding assistants would lead to better care in nursing homes during mealtimes, the busiest times of the day. He said the assistants would "take some of the pressure off" nurses so they can do other, more complex tasks.

Under the new rule, effective Oct. 26, feeding assistants are allowed to feed residents, a task that only licensed nurses, certified aides and other care providers had been allowed to perform.

"When 40 or 50 meals need to be dispersed, and many residents need to be encouraged to eat, if not hand-fed, this will be a good thing," says Larry Minnix, president of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, which represents nonprofit homes.

But consumer advocates fear that lowering standards for feeding assistants may raise the risk of choking and other problems among residents.

The change eases existing standards by requiring feeding assistants to get just eight hours of training—far less than the 75 hours that nurse's aides must complete. Feeding assistants aren't required to pass a competency test as aides are.

The rule also permits assistants to help feed residents without direct supervision from nurses or aides.

"We were appalled that the … regulations would let people with so little training or experience work unsupervised," says Janet Wells of the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform in Washington.

In a letter to the administration, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called the feeding assistants' shorter training period and lack of direct supervision "completely unacceptable" and asked that the government reverse or modify the rule.

Chris Hansen, AARP associate executive director, says the new rule is "too lax" and should require adequate training, oversight and evaluation of residents' needs. But he also calls the administration's goals to boost staffing in nursing homes a positive development.

"We hope the added staffers will better meet the patients' needs and free the more trained staff to deal with the more critical care issues in the home," Hansen says.

Hansen also says that AARP will continue to work with administration officials to evaluate the program's success. He says AARP, along with nursing home reform advocates, will try to persuade state regulatory officials to make sure training and safety measures are adequate—before the new rule is implemented.