[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6075]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     TUBERCULOSIS IS SPREADING RAPIDLY THROUGH THE DEVELOPING WORLD

  (Mr. BROWN of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, the threat of tuberculosis is 
spreading rapidly throughout the developing world, and ultimately in 
this country.
  TB is the greatest infectious killer of adults worldwide. More than 
one-third of African AIDS victims actually end up, in the end, dying 
from tuberculosis. 1,100 people a day are dying from tuberculosis in 
India. It kills 2 million people worldwide per year, one person every 
15 seconds.
  We have a very small window of opportunity, during which stopping TB 
would be very cost effective.

                              {time}  1415

  In the developing world, the cost can be as little as $20; $20 can 
save generally a pretty young life. If we wait or go too slowly, more 
drug-resistant TB will emerge. It costs billions to control with no 
guarantee of success. Drug-resistant TB is at least 100 times more 
expensive in developing countries, and is 100 times more expensive in 
the United States to cure than nondrug-resistant TB.
  Mr. Speaker, I have introduced legislation to combat TB here and 
abroad. We have an opportunity to save millions of lives now and 
prevent millions of needless deaths, not just overseas, but ultimately 
in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to consider joining several dozen 
of us as cosponsors in our fight to eliminate tuberculosis.

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