[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 352 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 352

 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Better Hearing and Speech 
                     Month, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2008

  Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself, Mr. Walsh of New York, Mrs. 
 Capps, and Mr. Ehlers) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Better Hearing and Speech 
                     Month, and for other purposes.

Whereas the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 
        reports that approximately 42,000,000 people in the United States suffer 
        from a speech, voice, language, or hearing impairment;
Whereas approximately 15 percent of, or 3,250,000, American adults report some 
        degree of hearing loss;
Whereas 1 out of every 3 people in the United States over 60 years of age have a 
        hearing problem;
Whereas 1 in 6 baby boomers, aged 41 to 59 years, have a hearing problem;
Whereas 1 in 14 Generation X-ers, aged 29 to 40 years, already have hearing 
        loss;
Whereas at least 1,400,000 children have hearing problems;
Whereas traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been labeled the signature injury of 
        the war in Iraq, with estimates as high as 20 percent of the number of 
        soldiers who have experienced concussions while deployed;
Whereas TBI patients may have difficulty with spoken language, a disorder called 
        dysarthria, if the part of the brain that controls speech muscles is 
        damaged, resulting in slowed, slurred, and garbled speech;
Whereas approximately 1,400,000 traumatic brain injuries occur annually in the 
        United States from accidents and athletic injuries, with related direct 
        and indirect medical costs totaling over an estimated $6,000,000,000;
Whereas soldiers sent to battle zones are over 50 times more likely to suffer 
        noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) than soldiers who do not deploy;
Whereas thousands of American soldiers sent to Iraq have suffered from NIHL due 
        to a lack of education about hearing protection, a reduced force of 
        military audiologists, and a lack of monitoring for changes in hearing;
Whereas although more than 32,500,000 adults in the United States would benefit 
        from the use of a hearing aid, only 1 out of 5 people who could benefit 
        actually wear a hearing aid;
Whereas at least 12,000,000 people in the United States have tinnitus, or 
        ringing in the ears, with at least 1,000,000 who experience this 
        condition so severely that it interferes with their daily activities;
Whereas sounds louder than 80 decibels are considered potentially dangerous and 
        can lead to hearing loss;
Whereas the number of young children who suffer hearing loss as a result of 
        environmental noise has increased;
Whereas every day, approximately 33 babies are born with significant hearing 
        loss in the United States;
Whereas hearing loss is the most common congenital disorder in newborns;
Whereas a delay in diagnosing a newborn's hearing loss can affect the child's 
        social, emotional, and academic development;
Whereas even mild or unilateral hearing loss left undetected can result in 
        delayed speech and language acquisition, and inappropriate 
        identification of behavioral problems;
Whereas those with undetected mild or unilateral hearing loss are 10 times more 
        likely to be held back at least one school grade;
Whereas during the 2003 school year, more than 1,500,000 children had speech, 
        language, or hearing impairments, and received services under the 
        Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;
Whereas children with language impairments are 4 to 5 times more likely than 
        their peers to experience reading problems;
Whereas 10 percent of children entering the first grade have moderate to severe 
        speech disorders, which include stuttering;
Whereas it is estimated that more than 3,000,000 Americans stutter;
Whereas approximately 1,000,000 people in the United States have aphasia, a 
        language disorder inhibiting spoken communication that results from a 
        stroke or other traumatic injury to the language centers of the brain; 
        and
Whereas for the last 80 years, May has been celebrated as National Better 
        Hearing and Speech Month in order to raise awareness regarding speech, 
        voice, language, and hearing impairments, and provide an opportunity for 
        Federal, State, and local governments, members of the private and 
        nonprofit sectors, speech and hearing professionals, and all people of 
        the United States, to focus on preventing, mitigating, and curing such 
        impairments: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Better 
        Hearing and Speech Month;
            (2) urges increased coordination of community-based, 
        comprehensive care for soldiers, veterans, athletes, and 
        accident victims who have experienced traumatic brain injury;
            (3) supports the efforts of speech and hearing 
        professionals in their efforts to improve the speech and 
        hearing development of children;
            (4) encourages the people of the United States to have 
        their hearing checked regularly and to avoid environmental 
        noise that can lead to hearing loss; and
            (5) commends the 46 States that have implemented routine 
        hearing screenings for every newborn before leaving the 
        hospital.
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