[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 12, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5420-H5422]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION ON ITS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 204) congratulating the American 
Dental Association for its 150th year of working to improve the 
public's oral health

[[Page H5421]]

and promoting dentistry, supporting initiatives to improve access to 
oral health care services for all Americans, and emphasizing the 
benefits of prevention of disease through support of community 
prevention initiatives and promotion of good oral hygiene.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 204

       Whereas access to good oral health care is a vital element 
     of overall health;
       Whereas the American Dental Association works to improve 
     access to oral health care services that are essential to 
     help ensure the health of the American public;
       Whereas the American Dental Association supports community 
     prevention initiatives and promotion of good oral hygiene;
       Whereas the American Dental Association continually works 
     to improve dental technologies and therapies through research 
     and adherence to sound scientific principles;
       Whereas ``The Journal of the American Dental Association'' 
     is recognized internationally as a leader in peer-reviewed 
     dental science;
       Whereas the American Dental Association encourages its 
     membership of more than 157,000 dentists to donate their 
     time, resources, and services to providing charitable and 
     uncompensated care;
       Whereas dental practices provide over $2,000,000,000 in 
     charitable and uncompensated care to specific underserved 
     populations annually; and
       Whereas the American Dental Association advocates 
     sufficient funding for Federal dental research and military 
     readiness programs: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) congratulates the American Dental Association for its 
     150th anniversary;
       (2) commends the American Dental Association's work to 
     improve the public's oral health as well as access to oral 
     health care for all Americans, especially low-income 
     children;
       (3) recognizes the tens of thousands of dentists who 
     volunteer their time and resources to provide charitable and 
     uncompensated oral health care to millions of Americans; and
       (4) commends the American Dental Association's efforts to 
     keep American dentistry the best in the world.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) and the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. 
Simpson) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to extend and revise their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 204, a 
resolution that congratulates the American Dental Association on its 
150th anniversary.
  The American Dental Association is the largest and oldest 
professional association for dental providers. Its more than 157,000 
members play a vital role in improving access to oral health services.
  Former Surgeon General David Satcher has noted that oral health is 
integral to general health. The American Dental Association has been a 
lead advocate in ensuring that these important health services are not 
forgotten.
  I would like to thank and applaud my colleague, Representative 
Simpson, for his leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to join 
me in supporting this resolution that commends the American Dental 
Association for its important work to promote good oral hygiene and 
community prevention strategies.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today to offer this resolution congratulating the American 
Dental Association on its 150th year of advancing the art and science 
of dentistry and advocating on behalf of the oral health of the 
American people. I know many of you join me in offering those 
congratulations, as the resolution before the House today has 104 
cosponsors.
  The ADA is the professional association of dentists committed to the 
public's oral health, ethics, science, and the advancement of the 
dental profession.
  The ADA traces its origins to the mid-19th century, when 
representatives of eight regional dental societies and two dental 
colleges came together in Niagara Falls, New York, to establish a 
representative body of stability and character. They called their 
fledgling organization the American Dental Association. Today, seven 
out of 10 U.S. dentists belong to the ADA, with membership of more than 
157,000 dentists. The ADA has 53 State and territorial and 545 local 
dental societies. It is the largest and oldest national dental 
association in the world.
  The association has long been a leader, advocating for improved 
health care and access for underprivileged Americans. Even today, as 
Congress wrestles with the issue of health care reform, the ADA is 
continually reminding us that oral health is an integral part of 
overall health. The ADA's health care reform principles focus on three 
things; prevention and wellness, fixing Medicaid, and improving the 
public oral health infrastructure.
  The Association is active in cutting-edge dental research. At the 
Paffenbarger Research Center, housed on the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology campus just outside of Washington, D.C., ADA 
scientists are working on improving dental materials, tissue 
engineering, and cavity-repairing therapies. Some of Paffenbarger's 
research accomplishments include the development of modern high-speed 
dental drills, panoramic x-ray machines, protective tooth sealants, 
tooth-colored composite filling material, calcium phosphate, bone 
cements, and more.
  The ADA's Give Kids A Smile is an annual centerpiece to the National 
Children's Dental Health Month. It is observed every year on the first 
Friday in February. At more than 1,600 sites nationwide this year, some 
45,000 dental professionals provided free services to more than 450,000 
children. I can tell you, the spirit behind that one-day event carries 
over throughout the year. The ADA encourages its members to donate time 
and services to the underserved. In fact, dentists provide more than $2 
billion in charitable and uncompensated care to specific underserved 
populations each year. That's $2 billion worth of free dental work.
  I congratulate them on this 150th year of their founding of the 
American Dental Association. I hope that Members will join me in 
congratulating the ADA by voting in favor of this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my 
good friend from Indiana, who has been a supporter of the dental 
profession for many years, Representative Buyer.
  Mr. BUYER. I thank my dentist friend for yielding, and I thank him 
for bringing this resolution to the floor.
  I come from a family of dentists. My grandfather is a dentist, my 
father is a dentist, my brother is a dentist, my sister is a dentist, 
my uncle is a dentist. I chose not to follow halitosis, so I became a 
lawyer, which means that I sit in the kitchen with the children at 
Christmas and Thanksgiving.
  I come to the floor to honor my grandfather, Dr. Clarence Cornelius 
Buyer, my father, Dr. John Buyer, Sr., who on February 24 turned 80 and 
4 days later retired from his dental practice. That's a lot of years, 
isn't it, practicing dentistry?
  My deceased uncle, Dr. Earl Moore, was an orthodontist in 
Indianapolis. My sister, Dr. Diane Buyer, practices dentistry on the 
north side in Indianapolis. And my brother, Dr. John Buyer, Jr., is a 
periodontist and recently retired in January from the United States 
Army.
  One thing I note about growing up in a family of dentists that has 
helped me is when you mention the words ``prevention'' and 
``wellness,'' when I think of the professions in health that are out 
there, dentists take the lead. It is almost to the point where I 
believe that anthropologists, a thousand years from now, are going to 
dig us up, and they are going to look at our bones and say, look at the 
stress on those bones, but look at those teeth. They've got to

[[Page H5422]]

be Americans. Because, see, Americans, what has happened to us? I will 
eat what I want, I will drink whatever I want; by golly, the health 
system better be there to take care of my body, but I'm going to take 
care of my teeth because my smile means everything to me. I just wish 
the people would put the same focus they have in their teeth that they 
also place in their bodies. If we were to do that, how much better in 
wellness as a society would we be?
  The contribution that dentistry has had to me, as a leader in health 
policy for the country, even goes back to the 1990s, when we began to 
examine Medicare, for example, and we noted that one-third of our 
Medicare expenditures was diabetes-related. Well, I spoke up and said, 
I come from a family of dentists, and we focus on preventive medicine. 
If we spent billions of dollars on the front end, we wouldn't be 
spending the multibillion dollars on the back end. So it's about 
wellness of the whole body. So I want to compliment the dentists.
  Now I want to pause and talk about military dentistry, too, for a 
second. If we are going to compliment the ADA, it is not only in their 
contributions to our society, but also to military dentists. Military 
dentists are combat multipliers because there are so many non-
battlefield casualties, individuals who are taken off the battlefield 
because of what happens with regard to the deterioration of their 
dental hygiene. It is those dentists that put them back in, and I want 
to truly applaud them.
  Let me close with the infinite wisdom of the United States Army. I 
came out of The Citadel. I received my commission as a second 
lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps. My first assignment in the 
United States Army was with a dental clinic. I did everything I could, 
dad, to get away from dentistry, but for whatever reason, it totally 
consumes me, even in my life today.
  Let me say congratulations to the ADA and to all the dentists and the 
dental assistants and the dental hygienists and the specialties for 
which the ADA represents. Thank you, and good job.
  Mr. SIMPSON. I appreciate the gentleman's comment. I should note that 
I also come from a family of dentists; I just couldn't escape. I ended 
up going into the dental profession where he went into the law 
profession. We will argue for some time who made the better choice. But 
I appreciate everyone's support and would encourage their positive vote 
on this resolution.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 204, which 
honors one our nation's oldest African-American medical professional 
organizations, the National Dental Association. For nearly 150 years, 
the NDA has committed itself to opening the doors to the dental 
profession--a profession that has traditionally been dominated by the 
privileged few who could afford dental training--to men and women of 
color.
  Even more importantly, the NDA has been a voice for the under-served 
in our society, often speaking out about disparities in access to 
dental care when others in the provider community would not. The 
dentists who make up the NDA, like I, believe that the right to dental 
care must be a fundamental human and civil right--not a privilege. In 
the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, there is no reason 
that some Americans lack access to a dentist or oral surgeon.
  We all mourn the loss of Demonte Driver, a young African-American boy 
who died in 2007 as the result of not getting timely and medically 
necessary dental care because his family was uninsured. I am committed 
to working with the NDA and all other provider groups to ensure that 
our country reaches a point where stories like Demonte's will become 
increasingly rare and, eventually, cease to exist. We must work to 
ensure that young dental students who wish to practice in communities 
served by Medicaid have the fiscal flexibility to do so. This 
necessarily means addressing the $145,000 debt the average dental 
student incurs during the course of his or her education.
  To this end, I will soon introduce legislation that expands funding 
for the National Health Service Corps. The program provides for medical 
and dental students' reasonable educational expenses and a monthly 
stipend for room and board. After school, the student must apply for 
pre-approved positions in underserved areas. By increasing the funding 
levels between 2009 and 2019 by $100 million each year, my bill will 
ensure that every citizen in every community has access to the doctor 
and dentist of their choice.
  I applaud the NDA for their 150 years of excellence and compassionate 
advocacy and I wish them 150 more. Together, we will end dental access 
disparity once and for all. I encourage my colleagues to support the 
resolution.
  Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 204.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the grounds 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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