110 HCON 347 IH: Expressing the sense of Congress that the U.S. House of Representatives 2008-05-08 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 347 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 8, 2008 Mr. Baca submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, should take action to educate the public on the importance of adequate iodine intake.

Whereas perchlorate at low levels impacts the production of thyroid hormones in women with iodine deficiency; Whereas thyroid hormone is critically important for fetal brain development; Whereas iodine deficiency is widely recognized as the leading and most readily preventable cause of mental impairment in children; Whereas a research study published in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 36 percent of the 1,111 women in such study were found to be iodine deficient; Whereas the researchers in such study found that in iodine deficient women, exposure to low levels of perchlorate may impact the production of thyroid hormones; Whereas such study raises concern that a large number of people in the United States, particularly women of childbearing age, may lack adequate iodine intake; Whereas some research has found strong links between iodine deficiency and attention deficit disorders; Whereas mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy has been associated with subtle cognitive deficits in children; Whereas in 2005, the National Research Council emphasized the importance of ensuring that all pregnant women have adequate iodine intake and, as a first step, recommended that consideration be given to adding iodine to all prenatal vitamins; Whereas perchlorate is a contaminant found in water and in many foods, including milk, and is known to inhibit thyroid function at high levels; Whereas perchlorate can impair thyroid function by inhibiting the uptake of iodine and reducing the amount of iodine available for hormone production; however, this impairment can be avoided or overcome with adequate iodine intake and stores of thyroid hormone; Whereas one way to minimize the action of perchlorate on the thyroid is to increase iodine intake; Whereas an increase in iodine intake would benefit the entire United States population, given that iodine intake decreased by approximately 50 percent between 1971–1974 and 2001–2002, and conversely the proportions of people with mild or moderate iodine deficiency increased substantially; Whereas such mild or moderate iodine deficiency can be overcome by increasing the iodine content of salt, making salt iodination mandatory, and adding iodine to all multiple vitamin products; and Whereas an optimal method of protecting women and infants is to remove perchlorate from all potable water sources including groundwater plumes: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, should take action to educate the public on the importance of adequate iodine intake to— (1)prevent mental impairment in children; (2)minimize the action of perchlorate on the thyroid; and (3)avoid the other effects of iodine deficiency.