[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 30 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 30

    Supporting the goals and ideals of Spina Bifida Awareness Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 13, 2011

  Mr. Wicker 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 Spina Bifida Awareness Month.

Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 
        approximately 166,000 individuals living in the United States with a 
        form of spina bifida, the United States most common permanent birth 
        defect;
Whereas the risk of spina bifida can be reduced by up to 70 percent if women 
        consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, before and during pregnancy;
Whereas there are 65,000,000 women of childbearing age in the United States, all 
        of whom are potentially at risk of having a child with spina bifida;
Whereas 1,500 children are born each year with spina bifida;
Whereas, according to the Spina Bifida Association, spina bifida is a 
        complicated condition, adversely impacting virtually every organ system 
        and requiring multiple clinical specialists to provide lifelong 
        comprehensive, quality medical and psychosocial care;
Whereas the National Spina Bifida Program, administered by the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention, exists to improve the health, well-
        being, and quality of life for the individuals and families affected by 
        spina bifida through numerous programmatic components, including the 
        National Spina Bifida Patient Registry and critical quality of life 
        research in spina bifida.
Whereas the National Spina Bifida Patient Registry helps to improve the quality 
        of care, reduce morbidity and mortality from spina bifida, and increase 
        the efficiency and decrease the cost of care by supporting the 
        collection of longitudinal-treatment data, developing quality measures 
        and treatment standards of care and best practices, identifying 
        ``centers of excellence'' in spina bifida, evaluating both the clinical 
        and cost-effectiveness of treatment of spina bifida, and exchanging 
        evidence-based information among health-care providers across the United 
        States;
Whereas the Spina Bifida Association is the only national voluntary health 
        agency working for people with spina bifida and their families through 
        education, advocacy, research, and service; and
Whereas October is designated as National Spina Bifida Awareness Month to help 
        increase awareness and the prevention of spina bifida, as well as 
        enhancing the quality of life of persons living with spina bifida: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Spina Bifida 
        Awareness Month;
            (2) recognizes the importance of highlighting the 
        occurrence of spina bifida, bringing to light the struggles and 
        successes of those who live with spina bifida, and advancing 
        efforts to decrease the incidence of spina bifida;
            (3) supports the ongoing development of the National Spina 
        Bifida Patient Registry to improve lives through research and 
        to improve treatments for both children and adults;
            (4) recognizes that there is a continued need for a 
        commitment of resources for efforts to reduce and prevent 
        disabling birth defects like spina bifida; and
            (5) commends the excellent work of the Spina Bifida 
        Association to educate, support, and provide hope for people 
        with spina bifida and their families.
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