[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20822-20826]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES 
      SHOULD TAKE A PROACTIVE ROLE IN PROMOTING HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution

[[Page 20823]]

(H. Con. Res. 34) expressing the sense of the Congress that private 
health insurance companies should take a proactive role in promoting 
healthy lifestyles, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 34

       Whereas Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy 
     Thompson acknowledges that $270,000,000,000 in health costs 
     are caused by preventable diseases, including 
     $183,000,000,000 for heart disease alone, and has called 
     current policies of insurance companies ``wrongheaded'' for 
     not doing more to encourage people to stay healthy to prevent 
     expensive illnesses;
       Whereas obesity increases the risk of illness from more 
     than 30 medical conditions, including heart disease, cancer, 
     stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes, 
     which account for 2/3 of all deaths in the United States;
       Whereas 61 percent of adults in the United States 
     (120,000,000 people) are above their target weight, and 13 
     percent of children and adolescents in the United States are 
     obese or overweight, a figure that has tripled since 1980;
       Whereas from age 50 to 70, those who do not perform 
     strength training lose a quarter to a third of a pound of 
     muscle every year and gain the same amount in body fat;
       Whereas weight training is proven to increase bone density 
     and reduce osteoporosis among men and women over 50 years 
     old;
       Whereas if the more than 88,000,000 inactive adults in the 
     United States began regular exercise, national medical costs 
     would decrease by more than $76,000,000,000 each year;
       Whereas on June 20, 2002, President George W. Bush launched 
     the Healthier US fitness initiative to promote a healthy 
     lifestyle and encourage people in the United States to 
     increase their physical fitness; and
       Whereas providing incentives for exercise and strength 
     training would help more people become active and healthy and 
     would decrease national medical costs: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring),  That--
       (1) the Congress commends Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services Tommy Thompson for his efforts to encourage private 
     health insurance companies to take action to encourage people 
     in the United States to lead active lifestyles;
       (2) it is the sense of the Congress that private health 
     insurance companies should--
       (A) do more to encourage people in the United States to 
     lead a healthier and more active lifestyle to prevent 
     expensive and painful illnesses;
       (B) provide discounted premiums to those who exercise 
     regularly; and
       (C) encourage frequent screening for diseases that are 
     easily treatable in their early stages; and
       (3) the Congress applauds private health insurance 
     companies that are already taking these actions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Barton) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 34, the 
bill now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. 
McCarthy) for sponsoring this legislation. I think its basic intent, 
that is, as a Nation we need to do more ourselves to promote healthy 
lifestyles, is extremely sound. I know insurance companies are already 
doing just that in this area.
  I believe that what the insurance companies are doing is being very 
constructive. I also know there are limitations on what we can 
legitimately expect insurance companies to do. Individual and family 
responsibility remains the key and cannot be replaced by laws and 
resolutions.
  Having said that, I would like to take a moment to thank my good 
friend, the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. McCarthy), for her service 
to this House and her leadership on this issue. She will be leaving us 
after the conclusion of this Congress, and she will be missed. She has 
been a valuable member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Her 
brightness and her willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion across 
the aisle have helped move numerous pieces of legislation, and we will 
certainly miss her as we hopefully start the next Congress.
  Today, we are here to support her as she brings this important 
resolution to the floor of the House of Representatives. She has been a 
tireless leader on this issue, and I think it is a fitting tribute to 
her that we bring this bill to the floor. The people of the Fifth 
District of Missouri should be very grateful for her service to the 
country.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, I want to join the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), 
our chairman, in thanking the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. McCarthy) 
for her good work, not just on this legislation, but her years of 
service to this Congress, and especially her years of participation on 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce and her good work there on a whole 
myriad of issues. I especially, as I said, want to thank her for her 
work on this resolution, which encourages private health insurance 
companies to take a more proactive role in promoting healthy 
lifestyles.
  The number of Americans who are overweight and obese continues to 
rise. Obesity is problematic in large part because of the myriad of 
health complications it can cause.
  It is appropriate that health insurance companies, along with 
doctors, public officials, and community leaders, encourage people in 
the United States to lead healthier lifestyles. Moderate weight loss of 
5 to 10 pounds can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduce 
high blood sugar, and help prevent other health conditions associated 
especially with obesity.
  Making prevention work and encouraging healthy lifestyles requires 
cooperation from all parties involved in health care, including 
insurance carriers, and I am pleased to support the gentlewoman's 
resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for 
yielding me this time, and the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. McCarthy) 
for her 10 years of service here in the House. I have been here the 
whole time she has been here. She has grace and is decent and kind and 
has done an outstanding job for her people back in Missouri.
  This is a very important issue. I founded the Congressional Fitness 
Caucus 2 years ago, and cochair it with the gentleman from Colorado 
(Mr. Udall) for this exact same purpose, to try to encourage healthier 
lifestyles all across the country, particularly with young people, but 
especially here, where health insurance companies can join us and fight 
the obesity epidemic. Madam Speaker, Type 2 diabetes is climbing in 
this country.
  The human body is made to move. People need to watch what they eat 
and live healthier lives. We need to encourage it, and the entire 
health care delivery system needs to kind of change its approach to 
more preventive care; emphasizing maintenance, checkups, and all kinds 
of ways to take better care of ourselves to lower health care costs.
  There is no way Medicare and Medicaid, which are the Federal 
Government's responsibilities, can sustain the trends we see today in 
chronic health care problems associated with obesity. It is now on a 
par with tobacco as the number one killer in America, obesity-related 
illnesses. We have to get our arms around it. But I think it is going 
to take changing the paradigm and the culture, and it is going to take 
a national campaign.
  I, too, want to commend Secretary Tommy Thompson. He got his own body 
in better shape and now he is leading by example and carrying this 
message. The President is probably the most fit President in the 
history of our

[[Page 20824]]

country. We all need to use our own walk to exhort the advantages of 
just moderate increases in physical activity and better diet and 
nutrition.
  Health insurance agencies or companies stand to gain a lot from their 
bottom line by promoting wellness, a holistic approach to better 
living. We can all take simple steps. America on the Move is a national 
program that Secretary Thompson helped start.
  In Tennessee, where I am from, we are towards the bottom in terms of 
health. We are in the fried chicken belt. But we have Tennessee on the 
Move, which is a grass-roots effort to promote wellness and physical 
activity. Again, this is going to have to be done on a variety of 
fronts across the country, so that all these little fires will burn 
together for a healthier America.
  I cannot think of a better legacy for my colleague from Missouri to 
leave than to encourage people to live a healthier life, to enjoy the 
quality of life, better sleep, increased productivity in the private 
sector and in all of our lives, but particularly with our children. 
They need to know the consequences early on of inactivity and a 
sedentary lifestyle. Get out of doors. Go play the game. Do not play it 
on the video; go play it yourself. We need to encourage more physical 
activity.
  Again, this human body, all human bodies, were made to move. Burn 
more calories and ingest fewer calories. With small, simple steps we 
will not face the problems associated with obesity in the future.
  Madam Speaker, this is a bipartisan effort and I thank the 
gentlewoman from Missouri for leading this effort.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. McCarthy).
  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
House Concurrent Resolution 34, a sense of the Congress encouraging 
health insurance companies to take a more proactive role in promoting 
physical activity that prevents stroke, high blood pressure, and other 
life-threatening diseases.
  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges that 
$270 billion in health care costs are caused by preventable diseases, 
including $180 billion for heart disease alone. Research by the Harvard 
School of Public Health noted that the closest thing to a magic bullet 
for treating this epidemic is exercise. It is estimated that if the 
more than 88 million inactive adults in the United States began regular 
exercise, national medical costs would decrease by more than $76 
billion each year.
  According to the Department of Health and Human Services, two-thirds 
of all deaths in the United States are caused by obesity, a disease 
that increases the risk of illness for more than 30 medical conditions, 
including heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary 
disease, and diabetes.

                              {time}  1545

  Sixty-one percent of American adults are above their target weight, 
and 9 million school children are overweight, a figure that has tripled 
since 1980. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
found that walking and bicycling among children age 5 to 15 dropped 40 
percent between 1977 and 1995, and school budget constraints have led 
to the suspension of physical education classes across America.
  In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared 
obesity the most important public health issue facing the United 
States. As Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, a former director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, noted in a recent report on childhood 
obesity, ``Obesity is a personal issue, but at the same time, families, 
communities and corporations all are adversely affected by obesity, and 
all bear responsibility for changing social norms to better promote 
healthier lifestyles.'' Children and teenagers are contracting diabetes 
at a rapidly increasing pace. Dr. Kenneth Cooper, one of the Nation's 
foremost experts on physical activity, noted, ``We may have the first 
generation in which parents will outlive their kids,'' referring to the 
reduced life expectancy of children who develop diabetes before age 14.
  The measure before us today expresses the sense of Congress that 
health insurance companies can do more to encourage healthier, more 
active lifestyles and urges them to consider incentives for those who 
choose to exercise regularly. I applaud the insurance providers and 
companies who already recognize the benefits of a healthy public, as 
does this resolution. These insurers offer incentives for getting 
active. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, for example, offers 
a free Walking Works program to employees and policyholders. In 
addition to helping plan a daily walking routine, Walking Works 
provides discounts on walking shoes and pedometers. Cigna offers 
discounts on subscriptions to health-related magazines, and Aetna 
provides discounts for home exercise equipment. Kaiser Permanente and 
Aetna here in Washington offer dues reductions of up to 60 percent at 
more than 90 area gyms. Obese Americans who take drastic, expensive 
action to lose weight under a doctor's orders are currently able to 
lighten their Federal tax load.
  The Surgeon General recommends daily exercise consisting of 30 
minutes of walking or the equivalent, but 75 percent of Americans fail 
to meet this standard. A recent Harvard study found that, among healthy 
people, exercise can raise levels of HDL, known as good cholesterol, 
which improves clotting factors, lowers blood pressure and decreases 
inflammation. The study found that there is nothing else that has 
stronger and quicker effects than physical activity for preventing 
diabetes. Exercise can change virtually every tissue in the body. A 
German study comparing exercise and Viagra in treating erectile 
dysfunction found that an exercise regimen consisting of squatting 
exercises and pelvic and leg lifts is more effective in treating the 
condition than medication.
  Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has called the 
current policies of insurance companies ``wrongheaded'' for not doing 
more to encourage people to stay healthy to prevent expensive 
illnesses. H. Con. Res. 34 commends Secretary Thompson for his efforts 
to promote incentives for Americans to lead an active life. Just two 
weekends ago, Secretary Thompson, along with Agriculture Secretary Ann 
Veneman, Education Secretary Rod Paige and Surgeon General Richard 
Carmona, fanned out across our country announcing healthier U.S. 
grants. The Federal funds will aid in disease prevention or management 
programs, many aimed at promoting exercise, like an afterschool health 
club pilot program for children at risk for asthma, diabetes and 
obesity, and that is going to Philadelphia.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) of the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce for his kind remarks and help in this 
effort along with the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) and the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), my cosponsors from both sides of the 
aisle like the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Ryun) who spoke on behalf of 
this measure earlier in the day, and more than 20 organizations 
including the American Heart Association and the YMCA that support H. 
Con. Res. 34. I urge the House to adopt this measure and continue 
fiscally responsible policies to reduce the billions in health care 
costs currently spent on preventable diseases.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to join the gentlewoman from Missouri 
(Ms. McCarthy) in urging the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 34, 
a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that private health 
insurance companies should take a proactive role in promoting healthy 
lifestyles.
  Madam Speaker, we know as a society that our lifestyle choices 
disproportionately account for the excess death and disease burden in 
this country. Recent studies have documented that of the top 10 killers 
in America,

[[Page 20825]]

many such as heart disease, injuries, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, strong 
perinatal conditions and lung diseases can be reduced or eliminated 
through healthy lifestyle choices.
  I want to take this opportunity to commend and thank the gentlewoman 
from Missouri for introducing this important piece of legislation. As 
chair of the Health Brain Trust of the Congressional Black Caucus, I 
know that it can help my constituents, African-Americans in this 
country, all people of color and all Americans who are fortunate enough 
to have health insurance.
  Recently, the Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities 
at the University of South Carolina noted that, in the 20th century, 
public health advances eradicated diseases through sanitation, 
immunizations, health education and advances in medical technology. 
This led to enormous improvements in people's lives. However, the 21st 
century has brought a new set of public health challenges which include 
tobacco- and alcohol-related diseases as well as sexually transmitted 
ones. We have also seen that sedentary lifestyles and diets high in 
calorie-rich foods have produced a generation of Americans who are 
increasingly obese. The health problems associated with weight-related 
diseases are multiplying by epidemic proportions.
  Madam Speaker, between 50 and 66 percent of African-American women 
can be classified as being overweight. More than 2.8 million, or 13 
percent of African-Americans, also have diabetes. Finally, we and other 
people of color suffer disproportionately from complications and death 
due to this illness. We also know that lifestyle choices relating to 
poor nutrition and obesity can be associated with three of the other 10 
leading causes of death, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
  It is clear that we need all hands on deck to address this health 
care crisis in our country. That is why I am urging my colleagues to 
support House Concurrent Resolution 34 which urges private health 
insurance companies to do more to encourage people in the United States 
to lead a healthier and more active lifestyle to prevent expensive and 
painful illness; two, to provide discounted premiums to those who 
exercise regularly; and three, to encourage frequent screening for 
diseases that are easily treatable in their early stages. We still have 
to do more to cover everyone and to pay providers for their time spent 
in counseling patients on good disease prevention and health promotion, 
but, Madam Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 34 is a step in the 
right direction by giving the insurance industry a stake in the fight 
to eliminate health care disparities, to ensure better health for all 
Americans and to reduce the skyrocketing costs of health care. I urge 
my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I want to support the bill of the gentlewoman from 
Missouri, but I also, as we wrap up, want to reflect on what we have 
just seen on the House floor. We have just debated nine bills on 
suspension that have come out of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
and in a year in which a lot of the public thinks that all we do is 
fight each other on the House floor and get enraged at each other and 
confront each other, I want the country to know that there is another 
side to this Congress. We can have equality and cooperation. We have 
seen that today.
  We have just had nine bills put on the suspension calendar. When it 
goes on the suspension calendar, what it means is that the majority and 
the minority both at the committee level and at the leadership level 
agree to put the bill on the floor. It also means that you have to get 
a two-thirds vote to pass. In the nine bills that we have just debated, 
some of them are substantive bills. We have a bill that deals with 
asthma that I consider to be very substantive. We had a bill that deals 
with islet cell transplantation that is very substantive. We have a 
reauthorization of the Mammography Quality Control Screening Act by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) that is obviously substantive. We 
have a brand new patient navigator bill that the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Towns) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) put 
together. We have a bill for defibrillation that the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Brown) has authored. We have a prescription drug monitoring 
bill that the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood), the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. 
Whitfield) have worked together on in a bipartisan basis. These are 
substantive bills. It shows that we can cooperate. It shows that we can 
work together. We also had, it is not a health-related bill but the 
spyware bill that the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono) and the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) worked on shows that, in the area 
of technology, we can work together.
  I hope that we showed the country that the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, the ``e'' and ``c'' does stand for equality and cooperation, 
and that this is a precursor of what is to come in the next Congress. I 
urge support of the McCarthy bill.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues today 
to support H. Con. Res. 34 calling for private health insurance 
companies to take action to encourage people in the United States to 
lead active lifestyles. A report from the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention, CDC, shows about one in five American adults engage in 
a high level of overall physical activity, including both activity at 
work and during leisure time. At the other end of the spectrum, about 
one in four American adults engage in little or no regular physical 
activity.
  Physical activity whether it is walking the dog or simply taking the 
stairs at work is essential to good health. This CDC study helps give 
us an even fuller picture of our physical activity status. It confirms 
that we need to pay more attention to getting adequate physical 
activity and reversing the alarming rise in obesity that we've 
experienced nationally during the past decade.
  Research has shown that people who are usually inactive can improve 
their health and well-being by becoming even moderately active on a 
regular basis, and that physical activity need not be strenuous to 
achieve health benefits.
  Insurance providers need to help to promote fitness activities to 
their patients. Statistics in the United States make this clear: 61 
percent of adults in the United States are above their target weight, 
and 13 percent of children and adolescents in the United States are 
obese or overweight, a figure that has tripled since 1980. In addition 
to the health consequences, the economic projections are staggering. 
One study indicates that if the 88,000,000 inactive adults in the 
United States began regular exercise, national medical costs would 
decrease by more than $76 billion.
  The government and the insurance companies need to send a clear 
message that everybody benefits from improved fitness and exercise. 
While the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 provides tax incentives for 
taxpayers who are obese, it does not provide such incentives for those 
who are active and healthy.
  I believe that insurance companies should my colleagues gathered here 
today to encourage people in the United States to lead a healthier and 
more active lifestyle to prevent expensive and painful illnesses; to 
provide discounted premiums to those who exercise regularly; and to 
cover and encourage frequent screening for diseases that are easily 
treatable in their early stages.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, the percentage of children and 
adolescents who are defined as overweight has more than doubled since 
the early 1970s with nearly 15 percent of children and adolescents now 
being overweight.
  Congress has asked our schools to encourage health eating and 
physical activity to decrease the obesity epidemic in our Nation. We 
have encouraged our physicians to educate our constituents and parents 
to be better eating role models to their children. The CDC has even 
stated to begin to stop and reverse this upward obesity trend ``will 
require effective collaboration among government, voluntary, and 
private sectors, as well as a commitment to action by individuals and 
communities across the Nation''. It then only makes sense that we now 
ask the insurance industry to join us in the fight to reduce obesity in 
our country.
  As we know, there are serious health consequences that are caused 
when an individual is overweight or obese such as high blood

[[Page 20826]]

pressure, Type 2 diabetes, congestive heart failure, stroke, as well as 
some types of cancer. These can all be very costly diseases, especially 
if they are not managed correctly. According to a study of national 
costs attributed to both overweight and obesity, medical expenses 
accounted for 9.1 percent of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998 
and may have reached as high as $78.5 billion. Approximately half of 
these costs were paid by Medicaid and Medicare.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Miller of Michigan). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) that the 
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. 
Res. 34, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as 
amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________