[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 274 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 274

To authorize the President to issue a proclamation designating October 
          1993 as ``National Spina Bifida Prevention Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 1993

 Mr. Myers of Indiana introduced the following joint resolution; which 
     was referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
To authorize the President to issue a proclamation designating October 
          1993 as ``National Spina Bifida Prevention Month''.

Whereas spina bifida is the most frequently occurring and permanently disabling 
        birth defect of newborns, occurring in approximately one of every one 
        thousand live births in the United States;
Whereas the Spina Bifida Association of America supports the United States 
        Public Health Service's recommendation that all women of child bearing 
        age consume 0.4 milligram of folic acid daily in order to reduce the 
        incidence of spina bifida and other neural tube defects;
Whereas between 1980 and 1989, 18,000 children were born with spina bifida in 
        the United States and of the number of 13,500 have survived;
Whereas spina bifida is a birth defect resulting from the failure of the spine 
        to close properly during the first month of pregnancy;
Whereas although most of the March of Dimes and Easter Seal poster children have 
        spina bifida, many people across this Nation have not heard of the 
        defect and its debilitating consequences for children;
Whereas only a few cities in the United States have proper care centers and 
        specialized professionals that can provide the most effective and 
        aggressive treatment for children and adults with spina bifida; and
Whereas an increase in the national awareness of spina bifida may stimulate the 
        interest and concern of the American people, which may lead, in turn, to 
        increased research into the needs of individuals with spina bifida and 
        the prevention of spina bifida: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the month of October 1993 
is designated ``National Spina Bifida Prevention Month'', and the 
President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling 
upon the people of the United States to observe that month with 
appropriate ceremonies and activities.

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