[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 8, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4974-S4975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 109--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE WITH RESPECT 
                                TO POLIO

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. Dodd) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 109

       Whereas polio has caused millions of casualties through 
     history, paralyzing millions and killing untold numbers of 
     others;
       Whereas polio remains a public health threat in today's 
     world, despite being easily preventable by vaccination;
       Whereas polio is now limited to 10 countries, with the 
     distinct possibility that it can be once and forever 
     extinguished as an affliction on mankind by ensuring the 
     vaccination of all children in these countries under the age 
     of 5;
       Whereas a Global Polio Eradication Initiative exists that 
     seeks to once and forever end polio as an illness, which 
     includes efforts underway by the Centers for Disease Control 
     and Prevention; and
       Whereas the United States has the capacity to act to speed 
     the eradication of polio by assisting in the targeting of its 
     few remaining reservoirs: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses serious concern about the continuing menace 
     posed by polio;
       (2) implores the United Nations and its component agencies, 
     the private sector, private voluntary organizations and non-
     governmental organizations, concerned States, and 
     international financial institutions to act with haste and 
     manifold dedication to eradicate polio as soon as possible; 
     and
       (3) calls upon the executive branch to provide the 
     necessary human and material resources to end the scourge of 
     polio once and for all, including closely monitoring 
     laboratory stocks of the polio virus.

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to submit a resolution supporting 
global efforts to eradicate the scourge of polio from the face of the 
earth.
  It was not so long ago that American parents were afraid to send 
their children to public swimming pools in the summer for fear that 
they would contact this deadly disease. More than 57,000 cases were 
reported in the United States in 1952. President Franklin Roosevelt, 
himself disabled by polio, established the March of Dimes in 1938 to 
find a cure for the disease. Sixteen years later, mass vaccination 
began, using a serum developed by Dr. Jonas Salk. Infections declined 
nearly 90 percent within three years. Routine administration of the 
Salk vaccine, and the subsequent oral vaccine developed by Dr. Albert 
Sabin, soon relegated polio to the history books in the United States 
and many other countries. The disease continued to take its toll, 
however, in those parts of the world where universal vaccination was 
beyond people's means.
  In 1988, the World Health Assembly set a goal of eradicating polio 
worldwide by the year 2000. In that year there were an estimated 
350,000 polio cases in 125 countries. The World Health Organization, 
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and Rotary 
International spearheaded a global campaign to eradicate polio, as 
smallpox had been eradicated in 1979. As a result of this campaign, the 
Western Hemisphere was certified polio free in 1994. The Western 
Pacific--including the world's largest country, China--followed suit in 
2000.

[[Page S4975]]

But polio hung on in 10 countries in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle 
East, with 480 cases reported in 2001. Since then, Europe has been 
certified polio-free. But the disease has bounced back in India and 
Nigeria, and there were 1,462 cases reported in seven countries in 
2002. The eradication target has been extended to 2005.
  This resolution seeks to bolster the efforts of the WHO, UNICEF, CDC 
and Rotary International to eliminate this dreaded disease once and for 
all. It has been estimated that doing so would produce direct, global 
financial benefits of $1.7 billion a year mostly by eliminating the 
need for further vaccinations and their associated risks and would free 
millions from fear.
  I especially want to commend the efforts of Rotary members worldwide, 
who have set a goal of raising $80 million this year for polio 
eradication. Rotary has committed more than $500 million to the 
campaign since 1988. This represents the finest spirit of community 
action to address global problems, harkening back to when American 
families collected dimes to wipe out polio in this country. I urge all 
my colleagues to emulate the spirit of the Rotarians by supporting this 
resolution.

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