[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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