[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 49 (Friday, March 26, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2166-S2167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    COMMEMORATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE

                                 ______
                                 

 DESIGNATING SEPTEMBER 2010 AS ``NATIONAL CHILDHOOD OBESITY AWARENESS 
                                MONTH''

  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 117 and 
S. Res. 412 en bloc, and the Senate proceed to their immediate 
consideration en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolutions by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 117) commemorating the 80th 
     anniversary of the Daughters of Penelope, a preeminent 
     international women's association and affiliate organization 
     of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association 
     (AHEPA).
       A resolution (S. Res. 412) designating September 2010 as 
     ``National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month''.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolutions.
  Mr. KAUFMAN. I ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, 
the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, with no intervening action or debate en bloc, and any 
statements related to the resolutions be printed in the Record at the 
appropriate place.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolutions (S. Res. 117) and (S. Res. 412) were agreed to en 
bloc.
  The preambles were agreed to en bloc.
  The resolutions, with their preambles, read as follows:

                              S. Res. 117

       Whereas the Daughters of Penelope is a leading 
     international organization of women of Hellenic descent and 
     Philhellenes, founded November 16, 1929, in San Francisco, 
     California, to improve the status and well-being of women and 
     their families and to provide women the opportunity to make 
     significant contributions to their community and country;
       Whereas the mission of the Daughters of Penelope is to 
     promote the ideals of ancient Greece, philanthropy, 
     education, civic responsibility, good citizenship, and family 
     and individual excellence, through community service and 
     volunteerism;
       Whereas the chapters of the Daughters of Penelope sponsor 
     affordable and dignified housing to the Nation's senior 
     citizen population by participating in the Department of 
     Housing and Urban Development's section 202 housing program 
     (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
       Whereas Penelope House, a domestic violence shelter for 
     women and their children sponsored by the Daughters of 
     Penelope, is the first of its kind in the State of Alabama 
     and is recognized as a model shelter for others to emulate 
     throughout the United States;
       Whereas the Daughters of Penelope Foundation, Inc. supports 
     the educational objectives of the Daughters of Penelope by 
     providing tens of thousands of dollars annually for 
     scholarships, sponsoring educational seminars, and donating 
     children's books to libraries, schools, shelters, and 
     churches through the ``Open Books'' program;
       Whereas the Daughters of Penelope is the first ethnic 
     organization to submit oral history tapes to the Library of 
     Congress, providing an oral history of first generation 
     Greek-American women in the United States;
       Whereas the Daughters of Penelope promotes awareness of 
     cancer research, such as thalassemia (Cooley's anemia), 
     lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), Alzheimer's disease, muscular 
     dystrophy, and others;
       Whereas the Daughters of Penelope provides financial 
     support for many medical research and charitable 
     organizations such as the University of Miami Sylvester 
     Comprehensive Cancer Center (formerly the Papanicolaou Cancer 
     Center), the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, the American 
     Heart Association, the Special Olympics, the Barbara Bush 
     Foundation for Family Literacy, the Children's Wish 
     Foundation International, the United Nations Children's Fund 
     (UNICEF), Habitat for Humanity, St. Basil Academy, and 
     others; and
       Whereas the Daughters of Penelope provides support and 
     financial assistance to victims and communities affected by 
     natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and forest 
     fires: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the significant contributions of people of 
     Greek ancestry, and of Philhellenes, to the United States; 
     and
       (2) commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Daughters of 
     Penelope in 2009, applauds its mission, and commends the many 
     charitable contributions of its members to organizations and 
     communities around the world.

                              S. Res. 412

       Whereas during the past 4 decades, obesity rates have 
     soared among all age groups, increasing more than four-fold 
     among children ages 6 to 11;
       Whereas 31.8 percent or 23,000,000 children and teenagers 
     ages 2 to 19 are obese or overweight, a statistic that health 
     and medical experts consider an epidemic;
       Whereas significant disparities exist among the obesity 
     rates of children based on race and poverty;
       Whereas the financial implications of childhood obesity 
     pose a tremendous financial threat to our economy and health 
     care

[[Page S2167]]

     system, carrying up to $14,000,000,000 per year in direct 
     health care cost, with people in the United States spending 
     about 9 percent of their total medical costs on obesity-
     related illnesses;
       Whereas obese young people have an 80 percent chance of 
     being obese adults and are more likely than children of 
     normal weight to become overweight or obese adults, and 
     therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, 
     including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, 
     stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis;
       Whereas in part due to the childhood obesity epidemic, 1 in 
     3 children (and nearly 1 in 2 minority children) born in the 
     year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes at some point in their 
     lifetime if current trends continue;
       Whereas some consequences of childhood and adolescent 
     obesity are psychosocial and obese children and adolescents 
     are targets of early and systematic social discrimination, 
     leading to low self-esteem which, in turn, can hinder 
     academic and social functioning and persist into adulthood;
       Whereas participating in physical activity is important for 
     children and teens as it may have beneficial effects not only 
     on body weight, but also on blood pressure and bone strength;
       Whereas proper nutrition is important for children before 
     birth and through their life-span as nutrition has beneficial 
     effects for health and body weight, and is key in the 
     prevention of various chronic diseases;
       Whereas childhood obesity is preventable yet does not 
     appear to be declining;
       Whereas public, community-based, and private sector 
     organizations and individuals throughout the United States, 
     including First Lady Michelle Obama, are working to decrease 
     childhood obesity rates for people in the United States of 
     all races through a range of efforts, including educational 
     presentations, media campaigns, Web sites, policies, 
     healthier food options, and greater opportunities for 
     physical activity; and
       Whereas Members of Congress have championed legislation to 
     reduce and bring awareness to the issue of childhood obesity: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates September 2010 as ``National Childhood 
     Obesity Awareness Month'' in order to raise public awareness 
     and mobilize the country to address childhood obesity;
       (2) recognizes the importance of preventing childhood 
     obesity and decreasing its prevalence in the United States; 
     and
       (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the Federal Government, States, tribes and tribal 
     organizations, localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, 
     businesses, other entities, and the people of the United 
     States to observe the month with appropriate programs and 
     activities with the goal of promoting healthy eating and 
     physical activity and increasing awareness of childhood 
     obesity among individuals of all ages and walks of life.

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