[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE ASTHMA ACT IN CONJUNCTION WITH ASTHMA AWARENESS DAY

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                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 2, 2001

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to introduce this legislation 
on the day of the fourth annual Capitol Hill Asthma Awareness Day, and 
I particularly want to recognize Nancy Sander and the other hard-
working members of the Allergy and Asthma Network/Mothers of 
Asthmatics, whose dedication to fighting asthma is limitless.
  Last year, I visited a school in my district in Queens and met an 
extraordinary young person named Paige Eastwood. At 11 years old, Paige 
struggles daily to manage her asthma. Yet, as we all know, Paige is not 
alone. Approximately 15 to 17 million Americans have asthma, over 5 
million of whom, like Paige, are children. The burden of asthma on our 
nation is nothing short of a crisis.
  Though many Americans may think of asthma as merely an inconvenience 
or impediment, it is a serious condition that should not be 
underestimated. In New York, for example, asthma is the single largest 
cause of absenteeism in schools, and it accounts for 10 million missed 
school days annually across the nation. Each year, asthma results in 
more than 450,000 hospitalizations, in fact while hospitalization rates 
for other diseases are diminishing, they are climbing for asthma. 
Asthma also kills with unexpected swiftness. Often, the time from first 
symptom to final breath can be as little as 30 minutes. And this is 
happening to children in increasing numbers--since 1980, death rates 
for children due to asthma have climbed 133 percent.
  There is no cure for asthma, and for reasons that we don't fully 
understand, asthma rates have risen dramatically over the last 20 
years. That's why we must give researchers the tools they need to study 
this debilitating condition. We must give public health officials and 
community organizations the resources they need to spread the word 
about how it can be prevented and controlled. And with an epidemic like 
this, we must also engage schools in helping children with asthma more 
effectively manage their condition. Our schools not only need support 
to train teachers and students in how to effectively respond to asthma, 
but they also desperately need funding to purchase medical equipment 
and improve indoor air quality.
  That's why I reintroduced a bipartisan, comprehensive bill to address 
the asthma epidemic in our country. My bill will encourage states to 
establish pediatric asthma action plans, create a National Asthma 
Coordinating Committee to improve our nationwide response, and bolster 
public awareness and education efforts through the CDC. It will also 
provide $4 million per year directly to low-income schools hardest hit 
by asthma to implement asthma programs.
  Asthma is an indiscriminate disease that strikes Americans of all 
ages, races, and places. And Congress can and should do more to 
alleviate the burden of asthma. So today, as we begin Asthma Awareness 
Month, I urge my colleagues in Congress to join me in helping our 
country cope with this serious condition. When children are well enough 
to go to school, when parents learn how to ward off attacks, when 
scientists better understand asthma's causes, we can all breathe 
easier.

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