[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 29 (Friday, February 21, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MEDICAL CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR AIRMEN AND AIR TRAFFIC 
                CONTROLLERS RELATING TO SLEEP DISORDERS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 11, 2014

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3578, a bill 
to ensure new and revised requirements for screening testing or 
treatment of airman or air traffic controller sleep disorders.
  As the former chair of the House Homeland Security Committee 
Subcommittee on Transportation Security I am in strong support of this 
bill. This bill is a commonsense measure to address sleep disorder 
conditions that airman and air traffic controllers may be experiencing.
  Under the bill the Secretary of Transportation can follow consistent 
acceptable medical standards and practices, to implement or enforce 
actions that provide for the screening, testing, or treatment; 
including consideration of all possible treatment alternatives for 
sleep disorders.
  Sleep disorders is a serious matter that requires Congressional 
action to save lives and improve medical knowledge and best practices 
to assist those who suffer from a wide range of conditions.
  There are 40 million people, or about 5 percent of the population, in 
the United States who suffer from chronic sleep disorders. It is 
estimated that sleep disorders cost U.S. employers about $18 billion in 
productivity due to sleep loss issues.
  Further it is estimated that about 62 percent of all adults in the 
United States experience sleep problems a few nights each week.
  During any year, about 30 percent of all adults suffer from insomnia. 
In addition, only 29 percent of adults report getting the required 
amount of sleep each night.
  At least 37.9 percent of adults report unintentionally falling to 
sleep during the day once in the past month. The annual number of fatal 
car crashes associated with falling asleep at the wheel is 1,550. The 
number of non-fatal crashes associated with falling asleep is 40,000.
  Sleep disorders can occur due to medical conditions such as excessive 
drowsiness, fibromyalgia or narcolepsy and low thyroid function.
  Drowsiness in the context of sleep disorders is more serious than 
when the average person feels drowsy or sleepy during the day. We can 
usually deal with that feeling by walking around, consuming a hot 
beverage or distracting themselves with other mentally stimulating 
activity.
  The excessive drowsiness experienced as a sleep disorder is a feeling 
of abnormally needing to sleepy during the day. People experiencing 
excessive drowsiness may fall asleep in inappropriate situations or at 
inappropriate times.
  Fibromyalgia is a common syndrome that can lead to sleep disorders. 
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide 
pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft 
tissues. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, 
headaches, depression, and anxiety.
  Narcolepsy is more widely known as a nervous system disorder that can 
cause a sufferer to fall into an uncontrolled sleep nearly 
instantaneously. The exact cause of narcolepsy is unknown.
  In some patients, narcolepsy is linked to reduced amounts of a 
protein called hypocretin, which is made in the brain. The reason why 
narcolepsy can lead to less production of this protein is unknown.
  Researchers believe that low levels of a protein called hypocretin 
may be an underlying cause of narcolepsy--a disorder that makes people 
fall asleep during the day. Pharmaceutical companies are now looking 
for drugs that will replenish the lost hypocretin.
  Emmanuel Mignot, of Stanford University Medical School, California, 
and his colleagues identified that low levels of hypocretin in patients 
with narcolepsy, their study appear in the September issue of Nature 
Medicine.
  There is no cure for narcolepsy and symptoms include an 
uncontrollable desire to sleep during in the day, sudden loss of muscle 
tone, and paralysis. Narcolepsy is diagnosable as early as aged 15 to 
25, and those affected by the disorder must find ways to cope with 
illness by changing their work and eating habits to achieve a level of 
normal behavior.
  There is far too little research that answers the hard questions 
about sleep disorders which impact airman and air traffic controllers 
as well as millions of people in the United States.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 3578.

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