[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 7, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H2110-H2111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1245
INDOOR AIR QUALITY KIT FOR SCHOOLS
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Culberson). Pursuant to the order of the
House of January 23, 2002, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to share with my colleagues
that May is Asthma Awareness Month. Last Wednesday on May 1, here on
Capitol Hill, we held an entire day of related activities including a
hearing and free screenings. I thank my colleagues that participated
and found it rewarding and informative.
Meanwhile, Asthma Awareness Day was observed nationally and many
cities around the country hosted screenings and festivities to foster
awareness about this startlingly increasing health condition in the
United States.
As you may know, some 15 million Americans have asthma, and also 50
million suffer from allergies. The incidence of asthma is increasing at
an alarming rate, doubling over the last decade and a half. Of
particular concern is that the group diagnosed with the highest
increase of asthma is children under five years old. I hope that we in
Congress can all do our part by promoting knowledge about some simple
steps that can be taken to alleviate suffering of asthma and allergy
symptoms in our Nation's schools.
To begin, I would like to share what I do for my constituents in the
Sixth Congressional District of Florida. In February working with a
wonderfully resourceful group called the Allergy and Asthma Network
Mothers of Asthmatics and the Environmental Protection Agency, I mailed
this Indoor Air Quality, IAQ, Tools for
[[Page H2111]]
Schools Action Kits. As you can see, this is a very fine kit and has
lots of wonderful things to help schools. I mailed it to all 236
schools in my district, elementary through high school, public and
private. These kits provide explanations and suggestions for
identifying air quality problems and suggestions for their
improvements.
Now, why is indoor air quality important? This is from the EPA: ``The
EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor
level of pollutants may be two to five times and occasionally a hundred
times higher than outdoor levels.'' Of course, most of people spend
their time indoors. So here are our school children and our teachers
captive inside a building all day, charged with building the foundation
for their future, the children's future, potentially trapped in a state
of dusty or moldy or other respiratory discomfort.
This kit walks a school through setting up an indoor air quality
program to make the school an environment of comfort and well-being for
all the children and all the adults inside. Let me share the contents
of this kit. To begin with there is a video tape with two short
episodes. Hosts from the award winning PBS home improvement series,
``This Old House,'' show how one school successfully implemented this
kit and explains the importance of healthful indoor air quality and
properly maintained school ventilation systems. They point out that
many indoor air quality problems can be easily and inexpensively
prevented or solved by school maintenance professionals using basic
techniques outlined in this video.
Moving along, there is an IAQ coordinator guide check list and sample
memos to the school, parents, contractors, and the media. There are
also insightful start-up hints. To be most successful, a school would
want to assemble a multidisciplinary IAQ team. This might include the
school nurse, maintenance staff, teachers, food service staff,
housekeeping, air conditioning and heating contractors and someone from
the school district or superintendent's office. There is an IAQ
problem-solving wheel. It combines identification of symptoms (blue),
type, severity, and frequency and timing with environmental factors to
finger through on the chart: odors, temperature or humidity problems,
exhaust problems, grounds or building sources such as recent paint or
pesticides, to arrive at instructions most applicable and helpful.
I am glad to report that most of the suggestions in this kit are
inexpensive to implement. Often just planning and organizing can make a
monumental difference to indoor air quality in our schools. Finally and
encouragingly, the kit reminds the IAQ coordinator that ``implementing
an IAQ management program is an ongoing process and not an overnight
miracle. Be patient, stay consistent, organize and never forget that
you are doing something important for staff and students in your
school.''
Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility to our children and their
teachers with asthma who also have allergies to ensure that our schools
do not worsen their condition. I am pleased that my schools have this
tool at their disposal and hope that they might give me some feedback
to the progress in implementing it. If any Member would like
information on obtaining these kits for your district schools, please
contact my staff who will be delighted to help.
Finally, I think something worth checking out, a recent book has come
to my attention called ``My House Is Killing Me,'' the home guide for
families with allergies and asthma by Mr. May and Mr. Samet is
available. It is chock-full of extraordinary information. This is just
one of many books. Let us all resolved to help overcome indoor air
quality challenges.
Mr. Speaker. I rise to share with all members that May is Asthma
Awareness Month. Last Wednesday, May 1, we held an entire day of
related activity, including a hearing and free screenings. We heard
from physicians, a respiratory therapist, and a school nurse, all
experts in diagnosing and treating asthma. We heard from a professional
in air quality, from the Environmental Protection Agency, who discussed
issues of air quality, dust, mold and other contributors to respiratory
distress. We listened to an overseer of the States' Medicaid program to
talk about drug formulary and disease management program issues with
us. Most importantly, three courageous asthma sufferers came to relate
their stories: two enthusiastic school children, Kyle Damitz and
Allison Smith, and one hardy NFL football player, Jerome Bettis of the
Pittsburgh Steelers. I think my colleagues that participated found it
rewarding and informative.
As you may know, some 15 million Americans have asthma, and also 50
million suffer from allergies. The incidence of asthma is increasing at
an alarming rate, doubling over the last decade and a half. Of
particular concern is that the group diagnosed with the highest
increase of asthma is children under five years old. I hope that we in
Congress can all do our part by promoting knowledge about some simple
steps that can be taken to alleviate suffering of asthma and allergy
symptoms in our Nation's schools.
I myself have experienced bothersome allergy symptoms for much of my
adult life, so I understand how critical it is to assess and modify, if
necessary, your environment, and to have knowledgeable, reliable
professionals on your healthcare team. I think many of us will agree
that it can take patience, creativity, family support, and a sense of
pure resolve to tackle your asthma or allergy symptoms, and find the
regimen of medication, exercise, household adjustments and overall
lifestyle that works for you.
One point I would like to address is how, unfortunately, occasionally
works of fiction or media portray the suffering of asthma in a negative
light, or a reason for exploitation of a character. For example, in the
classic book ``The Lord of the Flies'' a boy who is overpowered by
other young men is identified as asthmatic, among other traits, and is
therefore thought weak. Also, in a feature movie out last year, ``Pay
it Forward,'' schoolyard bullies beat up on a child who helplessly
watches his inhaler fly from his pocket. Finally, I understand from the
most recent newsletter of the patient advocacy group Allergy and Asthma
Network Mothers of Asthmatics that a character in the animated movie
``Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius'' is similarly exploited and mistreated by
his classmates. All of us can help promote awareness and understanding
of this physical ailment so as to combat any stereotyping about it. To
that end, I would like to end my statement marveling at how one young
asthmatic schoolboy conquered his labored breathing and went on to a
wonderful role in history. I like to call this a story of ``respiration
inspiration.'' It is about a little American boy in the 1870's who had
very severe asthma. Back then, there were no inhalers or other medicine
as we have today. He was often sick and generally very weak as a young
boy. Well, he wanted to grow up and go to Harvard University and to
hunt and to be in the military and to do many great things with his
life. Luckily, he had a wise doctor and loving parents, who suggested
he exercise his body along with his mind. His parents installed a sort
of ``home gym'' for him, and he devised a strenuous regimen for
himself. Today, we can read in a ``Sporting Calendar'' preserved, that
from August 21 through December 11, 1871, this young fellow competed
with his brothers and make cousins in ``fifteen athletic contests--
running, jumping, vaulting, wrestling, and boxing--and won fourteen of
them, drawing the other one.'' [From The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,
Edmund Morris, 1979.] He still suffered some asthma attacks, but less
frequently, and less fearfully. This little boy grew up to become the
governor of New York, and the leader of the most famous cavalry unit in
the Spanish-American War, and finally, the President of the United
States: Theodore Roosevelt. I think that with the attention to medical
access, environment, and lifestyle that our hearing will showcase, that
any of the children here with us today might follow in Teddy
Roosevelt's footsteps. Let asthma slow no-one down!
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