[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 78 (Thursday, May 27, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6311-S6312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Hagel, 
        Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Levin, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. 
        Thurmond):
  S. 1159. A bill to provide grants and contracts to local educational 
agencies to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs 
for all kindergarten through 12th grade students; to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.


                  physical education for progress act

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, today I send to the desk and introduce 
the Physical Education for Progress--or ``PEP''--Act. My bill would 
provide incentive grants for local school districts to develop minimum 
weekly requirements for physical education, and daily physical 
education if possible.
  Every student in our Nation's schools, from kindergarten through 
grade 12, should have the opportunity to participate in quality 
physical education. Children need to know that physical activity can 
help them feel good, be successful in school and work, and stay 
healthy.

[[Page S6312]]

  Engaging in sports activities provides lessons about teamwork and 
dealing with defeat. In my judgment, physical activity and sports are 
an important educational tool, and the lessons of sports may help 
resolve some of the problems that lead to violence in schools.
  Regular physical activity produces short-term health benefits and 
reduces long-term risks for chronic disease, disability and premature 
death. Despite the proven benefits of being physically active, more 
than 60 percent of American adults do not engage in levels of physical 
activity necessary to provide health benefits.
  More than a third of young people in our country aged 12 to 21 years 
do not regularly engage in vigorous physical activity, and the 
percentage of overweight young Americans has more than doubled in the 
past 30 years. Daily participation in high school physical education 
classes dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to 27 percent in 1997. Right 
now, only one state in our union--Illinois--currently requires daily 
physical education for grades K through 12. I think that is a 
staggering statistic. Only one State requires daily physical education 
for our children.
  The impact of our poor health habits is staggering: obesity-related 
diseases now cost the Nation more than $100 billion per year, and 
inactivity and poor diet cause more than 300,000 deaths per year in the 
United States.
  We know from the Centers for Disease Control and others that lifelong 
health-related habits, including physical activity and eating patterns, 
are often established in childhood. Because ingrained behaviors are 
difficult to change as people grow older, we need to reach out to young 
people early, before health-damaging behaviors are adopted.
  To me, schools provide an ideal opportunity to make an enormous, 
positive impact on the health of our Nation. The PEP Act, to me, is an 
important step toward improving the health of our Nation. The PEP Act 
would help schools get regular physical activity back into their 
programs. We can, and should, help our youth establish solid health 
habits at an early age.
  The incentive grants provided for by my bill could be used to provide 
physical education equipment and support to students, to enhance 
physical education curricula, and to train and educate physical 
education teachers.
  The future cost savings in health care for emphasizing the importance 
of physical activity to a long and healthy life, to me, are immense.
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