[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONGRATULATING RUTH ANN NORTON

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 8, 2005

  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to 
congratulate Ruth Ann Norton, whose important work in preventing lead 
positioning has received national acclaim. Ms. Norton recently received 
the Nation's top community health honor, a 2005 Robert Wood Johnson 
Community Health Leadership award.
  Ms. Norton is one of 10 recipients nationwide recognized for their 
outstanding contributions to community health. As part of the award, 
Ms. Norton will receive a grant of more than $100,000 to augment her 
efforts.
  As recently as 2002, one out of every 25 children nationwide was 
diagnosed with lead poisoning. The City of Baltimore, where Ms. 
Norton's efforts are focused, has among the highest numbers of pre-1940 
rental properties in the Nation--and buildings constructed in that 
timeframe often contain lead paint. The children living in these 
buildings often develop asthma or lead poisoning that can cause serious 
disabilities and impairments.
  Unwilling to accept the fact that children are exposed to hazardous 
environments, especially in their own homes, Ms. Norton left the 
business world to become Executive Director of the Coalition to End 
Childhood Lead Poisoning in 1994. She transformed the Coalition from a 
one-person organization to a 30-person primary prevention organization 
that has provided direct program services to thousands of at-risk 
clients. The majority of those helped by the Coalition are single, 
African-American mothers and pregnant women living in high risk and 
low-income communities in Baltimore.
  Under her leadership, the Coalition has played a significant role in 
reducing childhood lead poisoning in Baltimore by 91 percent in less 
than a decade. This success is the result of preventative strategies 
and public policy changes advocated for by the Coalition, such as 
requiring lead reductions in housing stock, providing relocation 
opportunities for families living in hazardous buildings, and testing 
children for lead paint poisoning. The Coalition has also been credited 
with playing a primary role in the dramatic decline in lead-poisoned 
children statewide--from 14,000 in 1993 to less than 2,000 in 2003.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Ms. Norton's dedication to 
improving the health of Maryland's children, and to congratulate her 
for this well-deserved Community Health Leadership award.

                          ____________________