[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 24, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S9423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MENENDEZ:
  S. 3570. A bill to establish a National Public Health Coordinating 
Council to assess the impact of Federal health-related socio-economic 
and environmental policies across Federal agencies to improve the 
public's health; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise to speak on behalf of the 
public's health, and I am introducing two pieces of legislation that 
will help us assure that healthy people live, work and learn in healthy 
buildings and healthy communities, S. 3570 and S. 3571.
  Public health is a shared responsibility of both public and private 
entities--Federal, State, and local governments, as well as independent 
organizations and even individuals in their local communities. We all 
have a role to play, and we must all do more if we are to truly improve 
the public's health. That is why today I am introducing the Public 
Health Coordinating Council Act. This bill will establish a National 
Public Health Coordinating Council, to be chaired by the Assistant 
Secretary of Health and the Surgeon General. This Council will be a 
forum to improve interagency communication, coordination and strategic 
collaboration across Federal agencies. We should have confidence that 
policies and programs from one office support, rather than undermine, 
the policies and programs in another office. Unfortunately, I'm not 
sure that's the case within today's structure.
  For example, if the Department of Health and Human Services is 
working to reduce obesity, the 2nd leading cause of preventable death 
in the Nation, how well do the policies of the Transportation, Interior 
or Agriculture departments support these same goals? Are they working 
on programs to encourage public safety, or physical activity and 
healthy eating, as they should be?
  I look forward to passing this legislation and increasing the Federal 
Government's effectiveness in protecting the public's health.
  Secondly, another significant issue facing our Nation is escalating 
health care costs from chronic diseases--health conditions that can be 
reduced if we use our land responsibly and design and manage our local 
environments wisely.
  Our physical environment is not being designed to protect or promote 
health. The built environment--the places where we live, work, shop, 
and play--has an enormous impact on health, and can encourage active 
living and sound nutritional choices. How we plan and build our 
streets, homes, businesses and schools can either improve or compromise 
our health, and I am concerned that more often than not, we miss 
opportunities to get it right.
  Uninformed public policy decisions can contribute to health 
inequities, chronic disease, increased sprawl and traffic, decreased 
air and water quality, loss of green space and inappropriate siting of 
facilities and other unwanted health consequences.
  However, with good planning, we can intentionally and predictably 
improve health outcomes, improve individual safety, protect the 
environment, and lower public costs. For example, when car use was 
reduced during the 1966 Atlanta Olympic Games, asthma admissions to 
emergency rooms and hospitals also decreased.
  Obese and physically inactive workers have higher health care costs, 
lower productivity, increased absenteeism and higher workers' 
compensation claims. In one state, physical inactivity was estimated to 
cost $128 per person per year.
  So imagine, if 10 percent of Americans began a regular walking 
program, we could save $5.6 billion in heart disease costs. If you 
combine concerns over growing health care costs with concerns over 
growing waistlines and chronic diseases, it becomes clear very quickly 
that designing our environment to encourage walking and physical 
activity is a good investment.
  We can improve health outcomes by how we design our environments. 
People living in the most sprawling counties are likely to weigh on 
average six pounds more than people in the most compact counties, and 
are more likely to be obese and have high blood pressure.
  We can improve public safety outcomes by how we design our 
environments. The 10 most sprawling cities had traffic death rates 50 
percent higher than the 10 least sprawling.
  We can protect our environments by how we design them. Improved land 
use, design and engineering practices, and conservation and recycling 
substantially reduce contamination of major public water supplies, and 
preserve habitats and biodiversity of species.
  We can improve social connectedness by how we design our 
environments. Building healthy neighborhoods and communities increases 
social cohesiveness, improves mental health, reduces crime, and allows 
more seniors to ``age in place''. Designing our communities with short 
commuting distances increases time for extracurricular activities for 
our children, recreation/rejuvenation time after work for adults, and 
time for family members to spend together or involved in their 
communities.
  My bill, the Health Impact Assessment Act, will encourage community 
enviroments that improve, or at least do not harm the public's health. 
Health Impact Assessments, HIAs, are a relatively new strategy here in 
this country, although they have been successfully used for years in 
Europe and elsewhere to protect the public's health.
  Public health is generally not examined in the Environmental Impact 
Statement process in this country. Some innovative researchers and 
planners are trying HIAs here, including in Los Angeles and Atlanta. 
One recent example was an HIA for proposed oil and gas development in 
Alaska's North Slope region. Interestingly, they learned that the local 
community was concerned about loss of hunting grounds, increased 
contamination of their food supply and water quality, and an increased 
trafficking of alcohol and drugs. Their findings included measures to 
mitigate these health concerns, such as creating a health advisory 
board and increasing public safety officers, setting up a public health 
monitoring system and strategies to control spills and contaminants.
  My bill requests that the GAO identify what works best for assessing 
planning, the impact of land use and building design, and social policy 
on community health. It also creates a national clearinghouse and 
demonstration program to improve the built environment and promote 
health. Additionally, it strengthens CDC's capacity to promote HIA 
processes by developing guidance for assessing the potential health 
effects of social policy, land use and design, housing, and 
transportation policy and plans.
  I want to thank the National Association of County & City Health 
Officials, Partnership for Prevention, American College of Preventive 
Medicine, American Public Health Association, and Trust for America's 
Health for their help and support of this legislation.

                          ____________________