[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 62 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5183-S5184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS AWARENESS DAY

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 141, which was submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 141) designating September 9, 2005, 
     as ``National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness 
     Day.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. On Wednesday, May 18, parents of children afflicted 
with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and their advocates will travel 
to our Nation's Capital for the Second Annual FASD Hill Day. FASD Hill 
Day is sponsored by the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 
and organizations that support those who care for FASD children in our 
States and communities.
  Nobody knows better than a parent of a child afflicted with FASD how 
challenging it is to raise a child who

[[Page S5184]]

was exposed to alcohol before birth. Nobody knows better the physical, 
mental, behavioral and learning disabilities that can have lifelong 
implications. I would urge my colleagues to open their offices to the 
parents and advocates who participate in FASD Hill Day because they 
have a very important story to tell. Their stories will move you.
  At the conclusion of FASD Hill Day, the National Organization on 
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome will host its annual Leadership Awards Benefit 
Reception. All of the parents and advocates are invited to participate. 
I am pleased to inform my colleagues that the distinguished Senator 
from Wyoming, Mr. Enzi, and our distinguished colleague from Illinois, 
Mr. Durbin, will receive the 2005 Leadership Award at the benefit 
reception. As a Senator who represents a State with one of the highest 
incidence rates of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, I appreciate the 
leadership of Senator Durbin and Senator Enzi, and the support of all 
of our colleagues, in the crusade to eradicate fetal alcohol spectrum 
disorders.
  The term fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, or FASD, was coined by 
experts as an umbrella term to describe the range of effects that can 
occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. It 
refers to conditions such as fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol 
effects, alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder and alcohol-
related birth defects.
  The only cause of FASD is alcohol use during pregnancy. When a 
pregnant woman drinks, the alcohol crosses the placenta into the fetal 
blood system. Thus, alcohol reaches the fetus, its developing tissues 
and organs. This is how brain damage occurs, which in turn can lead to 
mental retardation, social and emotional problems, learning 
disabilities and other problems. In fact, FASD is the leading cause of 
mental retardation in all of western civilization, including the United 
States.
  Since the only cause of FASD is prenatal alcohol consumption it 
follows that by abstaining from the consumption of alcohol during 
pregnancy a woman can completely foreclose the possibility that her 
baby will be born with one or another of the conditions that are 
regarded fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
  Every day of the year we must remind women that no amount of alcohol 
consumed during pregnancy is safe for their baby. No alcohol during 
pregnancy is safe. None at all.
  To dramatize this point, a group of parents who were raising children 
afflicted with fetal alcohol came together on the Internet and wondered 
in cyberspace, ``What if a world full of FAS and FAE parents all got 
together on the 9th hour of the 9th day of the 9th month of the year 
and asked the world to remember that during the 9 months of pregnancy a 
woman should not consume alcohol?'' If this were to occur, they 
wondered, ``Would the world listen?''

  On the 9th hour of the 9th day of the 9th month every year they 
called upon all the peoples of the world to observe a moment of silence 
to remind women of childbearing age that no amount of alcohol is safe 
during pregnancy.
  These pioneering activists, most of whom were adoptive and foster 
parents, led by Brian Philcox and Bonnie Buxton of Toronto, Canada, and 
Teresa Kellerman of Tucson, AZ, did not have the resources of large 
public relations firms or well connected lobbyists. They organized the 
first International FAS Awareness Day, which was observed on September 
9, 1999, on a shoestring using the Internet. Rapidly their group grew 
to include more than 70 volunteer coordinators in eight countries. Each 
year I receive e-mails from places like New Zealand, Germany, and my 
own State of Alaska, telling me about their local FAS Day observances. 
Through this grassroots awareness effort, many women of childbearing 
age learned for the first time that no amount of alcohol in pregnancy 
is good.
  On September 9, 2004, for the first time, the moment of silence was 
observed on the Senate floor. I would hope that this would become an 
annual tradition until fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are eradicated.
  The resolution that I have introduced today designates September 9, 
2005, as National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Awareness Day. Although 
September 9 is several months off, I have asked that the resolution be 
considered at this time as a tribute to the efforts of the FASD parents 
and advocates who have come to Washington, DC, educate all of us about 
the dangers of alcohol and pregnancy and to provide them with a tool to 
encourage each of their communities to observe and participate in 
FASDAY 2005 when they return home.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the 
preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 141) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 141

       Whereas the term ``fetal alcohol spectrum disorders'' 
     includes a broader range of conditions and therefore has 
     replaced the term ``fetal alcohol syndrome'' as the umbrella 
     term describing the range of effects that can occur in an 
     individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy;
       Whereas fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are the leading 
     cause of mental retardation in western civilization, 
     including the United States, and are 100 percent preventable;
       Whereas fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are a major cause 
     of numerous social disorders, including learning 
     disabilities, school failure, juvenile delinquency, 
     homelessness, unemployment, mental illness, and crime;
       Whereas the incidence rate of fetal alcohol syndrome is 
     estimated at 1 out of 500 live births and the incidence rate 
     of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders is estimated at 1 out of 
     every 100 live births;
       Whereas the economic cost of fetal alcohol syndrome alone 
     to the Nation was $5,400,000,000 in 2003 and it is estimated 
     that each individual with fetal alcohol syndrome will cost 
     United States taxpayers between $1,500,000 and $3,000,000 in 
     his or her lifetime;
       Whereas in February 1999, a small group of parents of 
     children who suffer from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders 
     came together with the hope that in 1 magic moment the world 
     could be made aware of the devastating consequences of 
     alcohol consumption during pregnancy;
       Whereas the first International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 
     Awareness Day was observed on September 9, 1999;
       Whereas Bonnie Buxton of Toronto, Canada, the co-founder of 
     the first International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day, 
     asked ``What if . . . a world full of FAS/E [Fetal Alcohol 
     Syndrome/Effect] parents all got together on the ninth hour 
     of the ninth day of the ninth month of the year and asked the 
     world to remember that during the 9 months of pregnancy a 
     woman should not consume alcohol . . . would the rest of the 
     world listen?''; and
       Whereas on the ninth day of the ninth month of each year 
     since 1999, communities around the world have observed 
     International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates September 9, 2005, as ``National Fetal 
     Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day''; and
       (2) calls upon the people of the United States to--
       (A) observe National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders 
     Awareness Day with appropriate ceremonies to--
       (i) promote awareness of the effects of prenatal exposure 
     to alcohol;
       (ii) increase compassion for individuals affected by 
     prenatal exposure to alcohol;
       (iii) minimize further effects of prenatal exposure to 
     alcohol; and
       (iv) ensure healthier communities across the United States; 
     and
       (B) observe a moment of reflection on the ninth hour of 
     September 9, 2005, to remember that during the 9 months of 
     pregnancy a woman should not consume alcohol.

                          ____________________