[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 114 (Wednesday, September 5, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H5353-H5355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENSE OF HOUSE REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT OF SUMMER EMERGENCY BLOOD DONOR 
                                 MONTH

  Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res 202) expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives regarding the establishment of a Summer Emergency Blood 
Donor Month to encourage eligible donors in the United States to donate 
blood, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 202

       Whereas every 3 seconds someone in the United States needs 
     a blood transfusion;
       Whereas approximately 32,000 pints of blood are used each 
     day in the United States;
       Whereas donated blood is used for transfusions of 
     platelets, red blood cells, and plasma;
       Whereas between 5 and 8 pints of red blood cells and 
     approximately 5 pints of platelets are needed for the average 
     open-heart surgery;
       Whereas people who have been in car accidents and suffered 
     massive blood loss may require transfusions of 50 pints or 
     more of red blood cells;
       Whereas blood centers are often in short supply of type O 
     and type B blood;
       Whereas shortages of type O and type B blood are most acute 
     during the summer and during traditional vacation periods 
     during the winter;
       Whereas blood shortages can result in canceled surgeries, 
     emergency room closures, and even death;
       Whereas the Southeastern United States was in short supply 
     of blood for transfusions before being hit by tropical storm 
     Allison and is now experiencing a blood shortage crisis;
       Whereas other States are donating blood from their own 
     fragile blood supplies to the States that were hit hardest by 
     tropical storm Allison;
       Whereas the State of New York is experiencing a blood 
     shortage crisis;
       Whereas eligible donors in the State of New York are less 
     than half as likely as other eligible donors in the United 
     States to donate blood;
       Whereas due to higher rates of cancer and other factors, 
     the demand for blood in New York is higher than in other 
     States;
       Whereas the State of New York and the entire United States 
     would benefit from increased blood donation;
       Whereas the establishment of a Summer Emergency Blood Donor 
     Season would encourage eligible donors in the United States 
     to donate blood; and
       Whereas the summer of 2001 would be an appropriate season 
     to establish as Summer Emergency Blood Donor Season: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that--
       (1) a Summer Emergency Blood Donor Season should be 
     established to encourage eligible donors in the United States 
     to donate blood; and
       (2) the President should issue a proclamation calling on 
     the people of the United States to observe the summer of 2001 
     with appropriate programs and activities, including, in the 
     case of eligible donors, the donation of blood.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Souder) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).
  Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SOUDER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 202 expresses the sense 
of Congress that the President should establish a Summer Emergency 
Blood Donor Month to encourage eligible donors in the United States to 
donate blood. Although we just celebrated Labor Day, which is the 
traditional end of summer, the health care system continues to 
experience a shortage of blood donors. This resolution expresses the 
support of Congress to encourage blood donors to help their families 
and neighbors in times of need and will hopefully serve to increase 
public awareness of this issue.
  I thank the principal sponsors of this resolution, the gentlewoman 
from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
King), for their work on this resolution, which I support.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Since 1970, the President of the United States has proclaimed January 
as National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, highlighting the importance of 
giving the gift of life through the donation of blood. House Resolution 
202 will continue to help raise the public's awareness about blood 
donation by establishing a Summer Emergency Blood Donor Month.
  Every 3 seconds, someone needs blood. Each day, patients across the 
country receive approximately 32,000 units of this vital resource. This 
year alone, as many as 4 million patients will require blood 
transfusions, as accident victims, people undergoing surgery and 
patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer and other diseases. 
By donating blood just once, each of us can save up to three lives. Too 
many Americans wait until they need blood before they truly realize the 
importance of volunteer blood donation. Sixty percent of the U.S. 
population is eligible to donate blood, but only 5 percent do so. While 
women and minority groups are volunteering to donate blood in 
increasing numbers, the 5 percent who donate blood are generally 
college-educated white males between the ages of 30 and 50 who are 
married and have an above-average income.
  The gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) should be commended for 
raising all Americans' awareness about the importance of donating blood 
and giving the gift of life. Blood donations are most needed during 
holidays and in the summer. It is during the holidays and summer that 
the number of donations decline while the demand continues or even 
increases. This resolution will go a long way in addressing the 
Nation's need for blood during this critical period.
  I have always been told, Madam Speaker, that you cannot lead where 
you do not go and you cannot teach what you do not know. So I am 
pleased to note that each year at some point in time I find some way to 
go to a blood donor organization, get on the couch, get on the table, 
have my blood pressure taken and give blood, even if I have got some 
reservation or hesitation.
  Again I want to commend the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) 
and the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) and urge all Members of this 
body to enthusiastically support this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. King), the principal cosponsor.
  Mr. KING. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Indiana for 
yielding time. I rise in strong support of House Resolution 202.
  At the outset, let me thank the gentleman from Indiana for bringing 
this bill to the floor and moving it along. I also want to pay a 
special debt of thanks to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) 
for the effort and the leadership she has shown in this issue as she 
has on so many other health-related issues.
  Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Illinois really laid out the case. 
The reality is that every 3 seconds somebody needs a transfusion. 
Thirty-two thousand pints of blood are needed every

[[Page H5354]]

day. Yet as the demand goes up, the supply is going down. It is 
essential that the Federal Government play a leadership role. One way 
to do that, one very noted way of doing that is to set aside a month 
during the summer season, to set aside the summer season as the time 
when donation will be urged, encouraged. This is the time when the 
demand is at its greatest.
  That is why I am again proud to stand in support of House Resolution 
202. It deserves the unanimous support of this body. I thank the 
gentleman from Indiana, as I said. I thank the gentlewoman from Long 
Island, New York (Mrs. McCarthy) for the leadership she has shown on 
this issue.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy), the author of 
this legislation and one of the more sensitive Members of this body in 
relationship to human needs.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) and the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Waxman) of the Committee on Government Reform for allowing this 
resolution to come to the floor so rapidly. I want to certainly thank 
my good friend from Long Island, New York (Mr. King) for helping me on 
this issue. I want to associate myself with the kind words that the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) mentioned.
  We talk about giving blood. I know as a nurse over so many years, 
people are afraid to give blood. There is nothing to be afraid of. If 
you do not like needles, just turn your eye. You can give it in 15 
minutes. But taking that 15 minutes out of your life has an opportunity 
to save so many lives. We always think about giving blood in times of 
our community when there are accidents or a tragedy happens and people 
do go to the hospitals to give blood. This is happening every single 
day. No one talks about the children across this Nation that have 
leukemia and they have to have transfusions. No one talks about how 
much blood is needed for our patients that have hemophilic blood 
problems. No one talks about cancer, how it affects women and how they 
need their transfusion so they can go through their chemotherapy.
  I am hoping that by us being here on the floor and talking about it, 
those in the Nation who are watching this will say to themselves, ``You 
know, I can make a difference.'' I think that is what we are trying to 
ask. This resolution certainly is for the summer but it is blood every 
single day that we need throughout the year.
  The other thing that unfortunately is happening, we see especially in 
New York that only 2 percent of the people of New York give blood. This 
is happening across our larger cities. We do not talk about those in 
the minority communities that come down with sickle-cell anemia and how 
they need blood transfusions. We have to start educating people more 
and more on why they should give blood. You can give blood almost every 
53 days. It is certainly a habit that I am into.
  I want to remind all my colleagues that the end of this month we will 
be having another blood drive here in the Capitol. I am hoping that all 
my colleagues will donate this time so we can set an example certainly 
for all of our constituents back home. Also I would like to see all our 
colleagues go home and do a blood drive. One of our jobs is to teach 
our constituents on what we do. So I think it is extremely important.
  Unfortunately, one of the other problems that we are seeing is 
because we are seeing less and less blood coming over from Europe, 
people do not realize how much blood we count on, especially in our 
major cities for the transfusions that we get from overseas. That is 
going to be cut off at the end of this month and unless we can 
certainly sustain that, our cities are going to be in more of a crisis 
than ever before.
  So I certainly urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution 
but more than support it, do something about it. The easiest thing that 
we can do for the American people is to give blood. I happen to think 
that people in this country are tremendous during emergencies. Well, we 
are in an emergency. A pint of blood can save three lives or even more. 
I urge that this resolution be passed. I thank again the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. King). I thank the committee for passing this so fast.
  Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would like to again thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) for bringing this to the 
floor in an expeditious way and also the gentlewoman from New York 
(Mrs. McCarthy) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) for their 
leadership and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for his 
statement. It reminds us again and we are going officially on record 
that we need to think beyond ourselves and think of others and pay 
tribute to the millions of Americans who already donate blood and 
encourage that at this time of need.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana. It is always a pleasure 
to work with him and to interact with him. I will close by simply 
stating that when we give blood, we give the gift of life. I want to 
thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) for stimulating me 
and for challenging all of us. I am going to take up her challenge and 
I am going to go back to my district and organize a blood donor drive 
before the end of this year.
  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to join my 
colleagues in supporting H. Res. 202, a resolution expressing the sense 
of the House regarding the establishment of a Summer Emergency Blood 
Donor Season to encourage eligible donors in the United States to 
donate blood.
  Currently, our blood supply sometimes struggles to meet the demand 
for blood, which is increasing due to an aging population, increase in 
cancer diagnoses and new medical and surgical advancements. The recent 
decision by the Food and Drug Administration to eliminate donations 
from Europe will exacerbate this situation in New York City. Our 
teaching hospitals offer the finest surgical care in the world but 
these procedures often require substantial amounts of blood to 
stabilize a patient. That is why I am co-hosting a blood drive with, 
the Brooklyn/Staten Island Blood Services, the newest operating region 
of the New York Blood Center this coming Saturday at the East New York 
Diagnostic and Treatment Center.
  This drive is specifically designed to encourage minority 
participation in the City's blood drive. Less than 8% of the Blood 
Center's volunteer blood donors are African-American. This population 
represents only 7% of the community's blood supply. Yet, African-
Americans make up nearly 30% of New York City's population. Blood is 
particularly needed from minorities because minority patients sometimes 
have rare and unique markers, known as antigens, in their blood 
inherited from their race and ethnicity and may require a life-saving 
transfusion from someone of the same background. This Saturday's event 
at the East NY Diagnostic and Treatment Center will help boost the 
already significant collection progress in Brooklyn where the donor 
base has been increased by one-third in the past year.
  Having participated in Government Reform oversight hearings on the 
nation's blood supply, I understand first-hand how critical it is to 
encourage Americans to continually replenish the nation's blood centers 
with blood donations. I want to commend the authors of this legislation 
and the House leadership for scheduling this resolution at such a 
critical time. Hopefully, it will greatly increase the public's 
education and awareness about the need for blood donations. I urge my 
colleagues to support H. Res. 202.
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, as Americans, one of the many things that we 
can be thankful for is the high quality of medical care. American 
technology, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies are often leaders 
in the development of new and improved healthcare equipment and 
techniques. But even the most cutting-edge technologies, the best 
doctors and nurses, and the finest facilities cannot save the life of a 
person in need of a blood transfusion. A child with cancer, a mother 
who was in a car accident, or a grandfather who needs an emergency 
operation--any of these individuals could be saved by a simple gift of 
blood. Without this vital gift, which I must add is in great demand, 
many of our patients would not survive.
  Yet consider the following: Only five percent of people who are able 
to donate blood do so on a regular basis.

[[Page H5355]]

And, although donated blood can be stored for up to six weeks, it 
usually is used within ten days because the demand is so great.
  Every one of us knows someone--a family member, a friend, a loved 
one--who has needed, and received a blood transfusion at some point. 
But there are so many more who are in danger of not receiving the help 
they need.
  This is why it is so vital that we make people aware of the 
importance of donating blood. I take this responsibility very seriously 
and give blood on a regular basis. Yet, I am only one person. We need 
to find ways to encourage more. Today, we can pass a resolution, which 
expresses the sense of the House that we establish a summer emergency 
blood donor season to encourage eligible donors.
  I strongly support this resolution. We must ensure that everyone who 
is able to give blood does so. It is perhaps the most important gift we 
can give.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 202, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``Resolution 
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
establishment of a Summer Emergency Blood Donor Season to encourage 
eligible donors in the United States to donate blood.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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