[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 83 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 83

 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Better Hearing and Speech 
                                 Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2008

Mr. Reid (for Mrs. Clinton (for herself and Mrs. Murray)) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Better Hearing and Speech 
                                 Month.

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 32,500,000, or 15 percent, of adults in the United States 
        report some degree of hearing loss;
Whereas 1 out of every 3 people in the United States over 60 years of age has a 
        hearing problem;
Whereas 1 in 6, or 15 percent, of people in the baby boom generation, between 
        the ages of 41 and 59, has a hearing problem;
Whereas 1 in 14, or 7 percent, of people in the United States between the ages 
        of 29 and 40 already has hearing loss;
Whereas at least 1,400,000 children in the United States have hearing problems;
Whereas traumatic brain injury is an increasing problem among members of the 
        Armed Forces returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan;
Whereas patients with traumatic brain injury may have problems with spoken 
        language, called dysarthria, if the part of the brain that controls 
        speech muscles is damaged, resulting in speech that is often slowed, 
        slurred, and garbled;
Whereas members of the Armed Forces sent to battle zones are more than 50 times 
        more likely to suffer noise-induced hearing loss than members of the 
        Armed Forces who do not deploy;
Whereas, although more than 32,500,000 adults in the United States could benefit 
        from the use of hearing aids, only 1 in 5 people who could benefit from 
        a hearing aid actually wears one;
Whereas, of children between the ages of 6 and 19 years old, approximately 
        5,200,000, or 12.5 percent, are estimated to have noise-induced hearing 
        loss in one or both ears, often as a result of increased environmental 
        noise;
Whereas hearing loss is the most common congenital disorder in newborns;
Whereas a delay in diagnosing a hearing loss when a child is born can affect the 
        child's social, emotional, and academic development;
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 (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.);
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, including stuttering;
Whereas more than 3,000,000 people in the United States of all ages stutter;
Whereas approximately 1,000,000 people in the United States have aphasia, a 
        language disorder inhibiting spoken communication that results from 
        damage caused by a stroke or other traumatic injury to the language 
        centers of the brain; and
Whereas, since 1927, May has been celebrated as National Better Hearing and 
        Speech Month in order to raise awareness regarding speech, voice, 
        language, and hearing impairments and to provide an opportunity for 
        Federal, State, and local governments, members of the private and 
        nonprofit sectors, speech and hearing professionals, and the people of 
        the United States to focus on preventing, mitigating, and curing such 
        impairments: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 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 members of the Armed Forces, veterans, 
        athletes, and accident victims who have experienced hearing and 
        speech deficiencies as a result of traumatic brain injury;
            (3) supports the efforts of speech and hearing 
        professionals 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 the newborn leaves 
        the hospital.
                                 <all>