[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4344-S4345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           VERMONT STATE OF THE UNION ESSAY CONTEST FINALISTS

 Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I ask to have printed in the 
Record some of the finalist essays written by Vermont High School 
students as part of the 10th annual ``State of the Union'' essay 
contest conducted by my office.
  The material follows:

          Madelyn Trimpi, Woodstock Union High School, Junior

       Plastic is destroying the earth and a federal law to 
     restrict single-use plastics must be developed. Plastic is a 
     huge contributor to climate change and greenhouse gas 
     emissions that are warming the atmosphere. An article called 
     ``How Plastics Contribute to Climate Change'' by Brooke 
     Bauman from Yale Climate Connections states ``plastic 
     originates as fossil fuels and emits greenhouse gasses from 
     cradle to grave.'' At the beginning of its life cycle, gas 
     and oil are fracked from the ground, then made into plastic 
     releasing harmful pollutants like CO2 and nitrogen oxide that 
     get stuck in the atmosphere and warm the earth. Along with 
     greenhouse gas emissions, plastic pollutes the ecosystems by 
     simply entering and never leaving. In the same article by 
     Yale, scientists state ``plastics can break down into smaller 
     pieces called microplastics through biodegradation or 
     exposure to the sun, heat or water. These microplastics 
     scatter to all comers of the globe and even to the depths of 
     the oceans. Toxic chemicals can bind microplastics and create 
     poison pills that marine animals eat'' When a foreign 
     substance enters the ecosystem, it threatens all aspects of 
     the life cycle; Including humans.
       Biodiversity is the root of life on earth and when exposed 
     to something like plastic, everything feels an effect. For 
     example, research shows that plastic has entered into the 
     human body most likely through food like fish and other 
     meats. Animals eat the microplastics thinking they are 
     nutrients; we eat the fish, therefore consuming the plastic 
     in them. This can lead to many

[[Page S4345]]

     health issues. Studies show that an average of 20 particles 
     of microplastic has been found in 10 grams of human stool. 
     ``If our findings are remotely representative, annual 
     microplastic consumption could exceed several hundred 
     thousand [particles],'' authors of the Environmental Science 
     and Technology concludes. Even in cases when physical 
     plastics pose little to no risk to human health, potentially 
     harmful chemicals are added to plastics to modify appearance 
     or functionality. Some of these chemicals include BPA and 
     phthalates which have each been found to disrupt hormones in 
     humans. BPA has been linked to increasing the risk of birth 
     defects, metabolic diseases, and other health problems. Among 
     other health risks, phthalate exposure has been found to 
     reduce testosterone levels in male fetuses.
       Already, states including California, Connecticut, 
     Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont--have 
     successfully banned single-use plastic bags. In addition to 
     banning plastic bags, Vermont's SB 113 will place 
     restrictions on single-use straws and polystyrene containers. 
     These few states are leading the initiative in a fight 
     against an indestructible material. When it comes to plastic, 
     there are plenty of realistic alternatives that we should be 
     enforcing instead of fighting against it. Developing and 
     making these alternative products affordable and more readily 
     available is a necessary focus in working toward a more 
     healthy environment. Plastic is a major contributor to 
     climate change. A national ban on single-use plastic is a 
     simple start and necessary step toward saving the future of 
     our planet.

        Griffin Waryas, Bellows Falls Union High School, Senior

       Ninety-Seven years ago, Frederick Banting discovered 
     insulin. However, he decided not to put his name on the 
     patent; he believed it was against the Hippocratic Oath to 
     profit at the expense of patients. So, his team sold the 
     patent to the University of Toronto for a dollar, in hopes 
     that anyone who needed the medicine could afford it. Yet, 
     today, ninety-seven years since the patent was sold for one 
     dollar, people are dying because they cannot afford the 
     insulin they need to survive.
       Nicole Smith-Holt's son Alec died because of this. When his 
     26th birthday hit, he was no longer covered by his parent's 
     insurance, and his monthly insulin costs skyrocketed to a 
     staggering $1,300 a month. Alec could no longer afford his 
     medicine and passed away shortly after.
       Unfortunately, this isn't an incredibly rare case. The 
     costs of the most popular types of insulin have tripled over 
     the past decade, the average cost per month has risen to $450 
     a month, and 1 in 4 diabetes patients now either is forced to 
     take partial doses or skip over their life-saving medicine. 
     Unfortunately, Insulin is not the only drug being used as a 
     profit machine by corporate monsters.
       In 2007, Mylan bought the rights to the EpiPen device. At 
     that time, the cost of a set of two injectors was $94. A 
     little over a decade later, the cost is over $700. And with 
     3.6 million prescriptions being written last year, and the 
     net price to make a set being $60, Mylan made about 2.3 
     BILLION dollars in profit. They know people will buy it 
     regardless of price because they have to. This leaves the 
     life of uninsured, poor individuals in the balance.
       To fix this, these large pharmaceutical companies need to 
     be trust busted. They are buying off competition and abusing 
     the broken American health care system to pad their pockets 
     at the expense of the working class. Not to mention, they 
     have teamed up with the insurance companies to ensure profit 
     at every comer. While these companies are businesses and 
     should be allowed to operate as such, there comes a time when 
     the government must protect us from them. As the great Teddy 
     Roosevelt once said, ``We draw the line against misconduct, 
     not against wealth.''
       We need to employ the trust-busting laws set up in this 
     nation to prevent these monopolies from preying on our 
     citizens. To do this, we need to take the corruption out of 
     Washington. In the time between January 1st, 2017 and October 
     16th, 2018, 34 lawmakers received at least $100,000 including 
     the House Republican majority leader. Drug companies should 
     be banned from funding campaigns to prevent the purchasing of 
     their economic safety. Another law that should be employed is 
     a Sensible Drug Pricing Act. This would allow the companies 
     to continue to make money but also allow poor Americans 
     access to drugs that are relatively cheap to make, with a 
     control on the pricing.

        Kyle Wilkin, Missisquoi Valley Union High School, Junior

       Every day people experience struggle of some sort; they 
     struggle in a class or have to work harder than anticipated 
     to complete a goal, but some people struggle more than 
     others. Working hard, people may find it impossible to 
     improve; there may be something blocking their way or 
     restricting their ability to complete a task. In situations 
     like that people search for help; they turn to the people 
     around them hoping to find support, so oftentimes people 
     either find support, or they find indifference. When people's 
     basic needs aren't met, they are left to fend for themselves. 
     In the United States there are a total of 552,830 people were 
     experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2018. People 
     who are homeless are in need of people to support them.
       The first potential solution could be to allocate more 
     money to fund social workers to help homeless people. Working 
     with people who are homeless, social workers will be able to 
     help them find housing. According to the Congressional Budget 
     Office, in 2018 $623 billion were spent on defense; if some 
     amount of that money was given to the comparatively low 
     amount of $93 billion spent on education, training, 
     employment, and social services combined, more people could 
     work with those who are homeless to find housing. By making 
     more social workers available, people who are homeless will 
     be able to more easily access support.
       The second solution would be to support Housing First. 
     Housing First is centered on the belief that everyone can 
     achieve stability in permanent housing directly from 
     homelessness and that stable housing is the foundation for 
     pursuing other health and social services goals. Housing 
     First is a way to find people, who are in need of it, 
     permanent housing while giving them the support they need. By 
     helping people find permanent housing, they are able to 
     continue their lives and pursue goals that will not be 
     available if they did not have housing.
       The third potential solution is making mental health 
     facilities more available for homeless people. According to a 
     survey done in 2015 by The Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development, 25 percent of the American homeless--140,000 
     individuals--were seriously mentally ill at any given point 
     in time. Forty-five percent of the homeless--250,000 
     individuals--had any mental illness. A serious mental illness 
     is defined as a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, 
     behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning by 
     Merriam-Webster. By making mental health facilities more 
     available and destigmatized for homeless people, they will be 
     better equipped to live and be successful on their own. 
     Homeless people need thy help and support of those around 
     them; by giving people who are homeless options and the 
     support they need they will be able to start to support 
     themselves and find permanent.

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