[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 136 (Wednesday, December 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PREMATURITY RESEARCH EXPANSION AND EDUCATION FOR MOTHERS WHO DELIVER 
                             INFANTS EARLY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 8, 2006

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, as the Democratic sponsor of this bill, I am 
proud to rise today in strong support of this legislation.
  Since 1981, the CDC estimates that the number of infants born too 
soon has increased by over 30 percent. More than 500,000 infants are 
born prematurely each year. Tragically, premature infants are 14 times 
more likely to die in their first year of life and premature babies who 
survive may suffer lifelong consequences including cerebral palsy, 
mental retardation, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss. 
Preterm delivery can happen to any pregnant woman and in nearly half of 
the cases, no one knows why.
  This legislation will help identify the causes of prematurity and 
reduce the episodes of preterm labor and delivery. It also aims to 
reduce the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to 
pregnancy, and reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity. But the 
overarching goal of this legislation is to bring hope to the 1,305 
babies born too soon each day, and extend hope to their families. This 
legislation gives us a chance to make a difference.
  The PREEMIE Act requires HHS and the CDC to expand and coordinate 
their research activities on preterm labor and delivery and infant 
mortality, and to conduct research on the relationship between 
prematurity, birth defects, and developmental disabilities. In order to 
increase awareness of preterm birth as a serious, common and costly 
public health problem, the bill also requires the Surgeon General to 
conduct an expert conference on prematurity and report to Congress its 
recommendations for how the public and private sectors can identify the 
causes of and risk factors for preterm labor and delivery, and improve 
treatments.
  This bill has the strong endorsement of the March of Dimes, which has 
worked closely with us to craft this legislation. I salute and thank 
them for their advocacy.
  This legislation has broad bipartisan support in the House of 
Representatives and the Senate. I thank the bill's many cosponsors for 
their support and I especially want to pay tribute to the sponsor of 
this legislation, Congressman Fred Upton, for his leadership on this 
issue. We introduced this bill together in previous Congresses and I'm 
proud to have worked with him to make this bill a reality.
  I also want to thank the bill's champions in the Senate, Senators 
Lamar Alexander and Chris Dodd. It has been a rewarding experience for 
me to work in a bipartisan, bicameral fashion to enact this 
legislation, and I think our collective efforts have made this bill 
stronger because of it.
  I want to thank Chairman Barton for acknowledging the importance of 
acting on this legislation before the end of the year and bringing it 
to the floor today. I also want to thank the staff members who have put 
so much time and energy into this legislation: Page Kranbuhl with 
Senator Alexander, Tamar Magarik with Senator Dodd, Jane Williams with 
Representative Upton, Randy Pate with Chairman Barton, and Jennifer 
Nieto of my staff.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill which will help make a 
difference in the lives of families across America and around the world 
and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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