[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8229]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            WORLD ASTHMA DAY

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, May 4 is World Asthma Day. Today people 
from across the globe will raise awareness of asthma and its impact on 
the lives of those millions of people who suffer from it. It should 
also be the day we in government recall our duty to safeguard the 
health of all Americans.
  Asthma is a lifetime disease. It is triggered by a variety of 
factors, including allergens, cigarette smoke, viral infections, foods, 
weather changes, and air pollution. Air passages become inflamed, 
making it difficult for sufferers to breathe, and sometimes resulting 
in critical emergency situations. It is dangerous, and it is costly. 
Our country spends around $3.2 billion every year just to treat 
asthmatic children.
  That is why I am particularly concerned that asthma is on the rise, 
and that polluting industries and cars are making matters worse. 
Seventeen million Americans suffer from asthma. It is the most common 
chronic health problem among our Nation's children, causing missed 
school days, restricted activity, and costly medical bills. According 
to the American Lung Association, 9,000 children and 42,000 adults in 
Washington, DC alone have asthma.
  Scientific research has increasingly linked air pollution from power 
plants and tailpipe exhaust to asthma. For example, researchers at the 
University of Southern California recently discovered that children 
living in high-ozone areas and participating in outdoor sports were 
three times more likely to develop asthma than less active kids in less 
polluted areas. The scientists explain that children who exercise 
outdoors take in more of the dirty air than other kids, leaving them 
more susceptible to airway damage.
  A new report by the Harvard Center for Health and the Global 
Environment at Harvard Medical School expands upon such research by 
linking global warming gases to increased incidence of allergies and 
asthma in the inner city. The report states that rising levels of 
atmospheric carbon dioxide, due mainly to fossil fuel combustion, not 
only trap more heat, but they promote greater pollen and mold growth 
and associated asthma.
  On World Asthma Day, the air may not be clear, but the message is: We 
must immediately and dramatically reduce smog- and ozone-forming 
pollution and global warming gases in order to protect public health. 
The President's Clear Skies initiative won't do the job, neither will 
the EPA's new administrative rules that just postpone real pollution 
reduction for a decade or more.
  I urge the administration and the Congress to put aside partisan 
differences and polluters' special interests to protect the precious 
lives of those we represent. To live is to breathe. Until all Americans 
can breathe freely, our work is not yet done.

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