[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 153 (Thursday, October 13, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6515-S6516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 30--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF 
                      SPINA BIFIDA AWARENESS MONTH

  Mr. WICKER submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                            S. Con. Res. 30

       Whereas according the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, there are approximately 166,000 individuals 
     living in the United States with a form of spina bifida, the 
     United States most common permanent birth defect;
       Whereas the risk of spina bifida can be reduced by up to 70 
     percent if women consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, 
     before and during pregnancy;
       Whereas there are 65,000,000 women of childbearing age in 
     the United States, all of whom are potentially at risk of 
     having a child with spina bifida;
       Whereas 1,500 children are born each year with spina 
     bifida;
       Whereas, according to the Spina Bifida Association, spina 
     bifida is a complicated condition, adversely impacting 
     virtually every organ system and requiring multiple clinical 
     specialists to provide lifelong comprehensive, quality 
     medical and psychosocial care;
       Whereas the National Spina Bifida Program, administered by 
     the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exists to 
     improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for the 
     individuals and families affected by spina bifida through 
     numerous programmatic components, including the National 
     Spina Bifida Patient Registry and critical quality of life 
     research in spina bifida.
       Whereas the National Spina Bifida Patient Registry helps to 
     improve the quality of care, reduce morbidity and mortality 
     from spina bifida, and increase the efficiency and decrease 
     the cost of care by supporting the

[[Page S6516]]

     collection of longitudinal-treatment data, developing quality 
     measures and treatment standards of care and best practices, 
     identifying ``centers of excellence'' in spina bifida, 
     evaluating both the clinical and cost-effectiveness of 
     treatment of spina bifida, and exchanging evidence-based 
     information among health-care providers across the United 
     States;
       Whereas the Spina Bifida Association is the only national 
     voluntary health agency working for people with spina bifida 
     and their families through education, advocacy, research, and 
     service; and
       Whereas October is designated as National Spina Bifida 
     Awareness Month to help increase awareness and the prevention 
     of spina bifida, as well as enhancing the quality of life of 
     persons living with spina bifida: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Spina Bifida 
     Awareness Month;
       (2) recognizes the importance of highlighting the 
     occurrence of spina bifida, bringing to light the struggles 
     and successes of those who live with spina bifida, and 
     advancing efforts to decrease the incidence of spina bifida;
       (3) supports the ongoing development of the National Spina 
     Bifida Patient Registry to improve lives through research and 
     to improve treatments for both children and adults;
       (4) recognizes that there is a continued need for a 
     commitment of resources for efforts to reduce and prevent 
     disabling birth defects like spina bifida; and
       (5) commends the excellent work of the Spina Bifida 
     Association to educate, support, and provide hope for people 
     with spina bifida and their families.

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