[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20687-20688]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IMPROVED NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise to speak briefly about an 
important bill that I hope we can pass before the Congress leaves town 
and adjourns this year. That is the IMPACT bill, of which Senator Frist 
is the prime sponsor. I have cosponsored it and various other Senators 
have also cosponsored it.
  This is a bill that passed the Senate. It is awaiting action by the 
House. I wanted today to come to the floor and urge the House to bring 
up that bill and pass it so it can be sent to the President for his 
signature.
  Just last week, the Institute of Medicine released a report on 
childhood obesity. It is a report that I requested in 2001. The report 
indicates that the prevention of obesity in children and youth needs to 
be a national public health priority.
  Obesity-associated annual hospital costs for children and youth have 
more than tripled in two decades to $127 billion. In adults, national 
expenditures associated with overweight and obesity in adults ranges 
from $98 billion to $129 billion annually. The report calls on the 
government, industry, media, health care professionals, the nonprofit 
organizations, State and local educational authorities, schools, 
parents, and families to take immediate steps to confront this 
epidemic. And the IMPACT bill I have referred to will address many of 
those issues.
  The bill is of critical importance. It tries to focus attention on 
these issues. There are a variety of provisions in the bill that I 
think are extremely important. It will direct us toward finding 
solutions, first, by preparing the health care community to deal with 
obesity in terms of prevention, diagnosis, and intervention by adding 
obesity, overweight, and eating disorders to the list of priority 
conditions to be addressed in the health professions title VII training 
grants.
  Second, IMPACT supports community-based solutions to increase 
physical activity and improve nutrition on a number of levels. It 
provides funding for demonstration projects in communities and schools 
and health care organizations and other qualified entities that promote 
fitness or healthy nutrition.
  It authorizes the Centers for Disease Control to collect fitness and 
energy fitness expenditure information from children.
  It directs the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality to review 
any new information related to obesity trends among various 
subpopulations, and includes such information in its health disparities 
report.
  It allows States to use their preventive services block grant funds 
for community education on nutrition and increased physical activity. 
And it instructs the Secretary to report on what research has been done 
in this area of obesity.
  There are a variety of other provisions in the bill. The legislation 
is an excellent first step in the fight to improve health. It is not 
the only step we need to take, but it is a first step.
  We also need to assist our schools in providing healthy nutrition 
options and expanding physical activity programs. We need to grow the 
workforce such that people have access to the health care professions 
they need to prevent, diagnose, and treat obesity, and we need to 
ensure that Medicare and Medicaid provide the services necessary to 
help people prevent obesity and its complications.

[[Page 20688]]

  These are not small goals, but they are critical to our Nation's 
health, both today and in the future.
  I want to continue working with Senator Frist and other colleagues in 
the Senate to find new ways to address these goals, but before Congress 
adjourns this year we need to go ahead and call on the House to pass 
the legislation we have passed in the Senate. This is an important step 
and one that should not be delayed until the convening of a new 
Congress. I hope the House of Representatives will bring this 
legislation up quickly, will pass it, will send it to the President, 
and we can begin down the road of dealing with this serious problem 
that afflicts so many of our children.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. How much time is remaining?
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. There are 9 minutes 22 seconds remaining.

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