[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 114 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  CHILDREN'S ASTHMA RELIEF ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 5, 1999

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleague, Fred 
Upton, in introducing the Children's Asthma Relief Act of 1999.
  Asthma is one of the most significant and prevalent chronic diseases 
in America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
reports that 6.4 percent of the population, or 17.3 million Americans, 
report having asthma. This represents a dramatic 75 percent increase in 
self-reported cases from 1980 to 1994.
  Asthma is disproportionately hurting children. Today, it is the most 
common childhood chronic disease. Five million American children have 
asthma. And as Surgeon General David Satcher recently concluded, the 
United States is ``moving in the wrong direction, especially among 
minority children in the urban communities.'' The most devastating 
indicator of our Nation's lack of progress is the news that, from 1980 
to 1993, the mortality rate for children and teens with asthma rose a 
staggering 78 percent.
  Just a few days ago, Dr. Philip Landrigan reported in the Journal of 
Asthma that higher asthma hospitalization rates are associated with 
children, communities of color and the poor. The potential causes for 
the disproportionate impact of asthma are wide ranging, from the lack 
of preventive care, poor housing conditions and increased exposure to 
indoor allergens, to sedentary lifestyles and the siting of polluting 
commercial facilities.
  Our country can and must do more to prevent and treat asthma. I am 
pleased to introduce the Children's Asthma Relief Act of 1999, which 
was originally introduced by Dick Durbin and Mike DeWine in the Senate. 
This legislation provides $50 million for pediatric asthma prevention 
and treatment programs, allowing states and local communities to target 
and improve the health of low-income children suffering from asthma. 
The Act would also increase the enrollment of these children into 
Medicaid and state Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIP), such as 
California's Healthy Families.
  I am also pleased that the Act includes mobile ``breathmobiles'' 
among the community-based programs eligible for funding. These school-
based mobile clinics were developed by the Southern California chapter 
of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, in conjunction with 
Los Angeles County, Los Angeles Unified School District and the 
University of Southern California.
  This legislation has the support of leading child health and asthma 
organizations, including the American Lung Association, the American 
Academy of Pediatrics, Association of Maternal and Child Health 
Programs, the National Association of Children's Hospitals, the 
American Academy of Chest Physicians and the Children's Health Fund.
  As an honorary co-chair of Asthma Awareness Day, I urge my colleagues 
to join us in cosponsoring the Children's Asthma Relief Act of 1999.

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