[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2203-H2204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SUMMER CAMPS SHOULD REOPEN WITHOUT MASKS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, this year, due to the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention guidelines restricting outdoor 
activities, many children will be stuck inside when they should be 
outdoors in the sunlight playing, learning new skills, making friends, 
and enjoying their childhoods. This is not only important for their 
mental health but also their physical health and enhancing their immune 
system.
  And it is even more critically important in those States which have 
still not reopened their schools fully to in-person learning, despite 
all scientific evidence to the contrary.
  Yesterday, The New York Times reported that the CDC had hugely 
exaggerated their guidelines by saying that less than 10 percent of 
COVID-19 transmission occurs outdoors, and that the actual estimate of 
outdoor transmission is somewhere between 0.1 percent to 1 percent.
  This misleading guidance from the CDC has led to confusion, increased 
hesitancy to view outdoor activities as safe, and many summer camps 
have been forced to close their doors again for yet another year.
  We have known for quite some time that the risk of transmitting 
COVID-19 outdoors is exceedingly small. In Iowa, there was not a 
requirement to wear masks outdoors, even though physical separation and 
maintaining small group size was encouraged.
  Due to shelter-at-home orders, the numbers of cases of youth 
depression, anxiety, attempted suicides, suicides, increased drug use, 
and hospitalizations have continued to increase, despite the overall 
decrease in new COVID cases, hospitalizations, and mortality rates.
  A staggering report from the CDC found that from March to October of 
2020, mental health emergency department visits from adolescents had 
increased 31 percent from the same time in 2019.
  With the good news related to rapidly approaching community immunity 
from the pandemic and the relaxing of a number of protocols and 
controls, the CDC's newly released guidelines for summer camps is both 
overly cautious, rigid, and unscientific.
  Many of us have fond memories of spending time with friends and 
family, including a week at summer camp. Summer camps are a staple of 
childhood and adolescence.
  More than 6 million children attend the day and overnight summer 
camps in any given year. Denying children their ability to attend these 
camps and the opportunity to make a friend, learn independence, life 
skills, learn teamwork, build self-esteem, and continue their education 
beyond the school year is atrocious.
  With over 12,000 summer camps across the country, there are plenty of 
opportunities for our children to grow, learn, and play.
  Iowa is home to several great camps, including Forest Lake Baptist 
Camp in my home county; Hertko Hollow, a camp for children with 
diabetes; and Camp Courageous, a camp specifically for children with 
disabilities.
  Summer camps also provide employment for over 1.5 million Americans 
every year. This represents a great opportunity for high school 
students and adults to have great experiences outdoors while earning an 
income.
  As a doctor, former president of the Iowa Medical Society, and former 
director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, I have addressed the 
severity of COVID-19 and have been a strong and consistent advocate for 
all three of the safe and effective vaccines developed through 
Operation Warp Speed, and, in fact, just finished attending and 
administering vaccines at clinics in all 24 counties in my district.

  Just a few days ago, the Pfizer vaccine was given emergency use 
authorization to be administered to children 12 to 15 years old. It has 
been well-documented that children are at exceedingly low levels of 
risk for serious illness and that they do not transmit the virus.
  COVID-19 deaths were 277 through the end of April. To put this in 
perspective, the CDC estimates around 600 children died of influenza in 
the 2017-2018 season; 358 died during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic; and each 
year, more than 700 children die from drowning.
  We can see the light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, and as the 
number of Americans who are vaccinated continues to grow, coupled with 
those who have natural immunity from having the disease, I expect to 
see a return to normalcy and a return to pre-pandemic life. A return to 
normal includes allowing our kids to be kids.
  I am hopeful that we will be able to send our children to summer camp 
in the coming weeks so that they can have the experience and 
opportunities that they deserve.
  Time is extraordinarily limited, and I implore the CDC to act now and 
allow summer camps to reopen to full activities without the wearing of 
masks.

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