110 HRES 1081 IH: Recognizing of the week of April 7, 2008, U.S. House of Representatives 2008-04-04 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.

110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1081 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 4, 2008 Ms. Solis (for herself, Mr. Markey, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Farr, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Ms. Lee, Mr. Inslee, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. McDermott, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Payne, Mr. Berman, Mr. Towns, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Honda, Mr. Ellison, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Reyes, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Castor, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Olver, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. Norton, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Allen, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Kind, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Langevin, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Ms. Linda T. Sánchez of California, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Carnahan, Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Engel, Mr. Hodes, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Hall of New York, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Stark, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Shea-Porter, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Crowley, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Weiner, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California, Mr. Doyle, Ms. Harman, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Sutton, Ms. Tsongas, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Welch of Vermont, Mr. Shays, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Gonzalez, and Mr. Baird) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Recognizing of the week of April 7, 2008, to April 13, 2008, as National Public Health Week.

Whereas the week of April 7th, 2008, is National Public Health Week, and the theme is “Climate Change: Our Health in the Balance”; Whereas since 1996, the American Public Health Association, through its sponsorship of National Public Health Week, has educated the public, policy-makers, and public health professionals about issues important to improving the public’s health; Whereas according to the World Health Organization (WHO), climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health and the WHO estimates that human-induced changes in the Earth’s climate lead to at least 5,000,000 cases of illness and more than 150,000 deaths each year; Whereas according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change contributes to the global burden of disease, premature death, and other adverse health impacts due to extreme weather events, and changes in infectious disease patterns, air quality, quality and quantity of water and food, ecosystem changes, and economic impacts; Whereas according to the IPCC, the United States will be challenged by increased heat waves, air pollution, and forest fires during the course of the century, with potential risk for adverse health impacts, such as heat stress and increases in asthma, allergies, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Whereas the Director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Julie Gerberding, testified in October 2007 that, “Climate change is anticipated to have a broad range of impacts on the health of Americans and the nation’s public health infrastructure”; Whereas according to the World Health Organization the negative public health impacts of climate change will likely disproportionately impact communities that are already vulnerable; Whereas these communities include developing countries, young children, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses or otherwise compromised health, people in underserved communities, communities of color, traditional societies, subsistence farmers, and coastal populations; Whereas it is estimated that more than 900,000,000 people worldwide live in slum-like conditions and are particularly vulnerable to the possible health impacts of climate change due to a lack of access to health care, sanitation, and vulnerability to displacement; Whereas future vulnerability to the health impacts of climate change will depend not only on the degree of climate change the Earth experiences, but also on development and adaptation measures; and Whereas the public health system will be a first-line responder to emergency conditions related to impacts of climate change and plays a key role in informing, educating, and empowering local communities: Now, therefore, be it

That the United States House of Representatives— (1)recognizes National Public Health Week; (2)recognizes the efforts of public health professionals, first responders, States, municipalities, and local communities to incorporate measures to adapt health care systems to address impacts of climate change; (3)recognizes the role of adaptation in preventing impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities, the improvement of health status and health equity through efforts to address climate change, and the need to include health policy in the development of climate responses; (4)encourages further research, interdisciplinary partnership, and collaboration between stakeholders to understand and monitor the health impacts of climate change, for preparedness activities, and for improvement of health care infrastructure; and (5)encourages each and every American to learn about the impact of climate change on health.