[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11077-11078]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            CHRONIC FATIGUE AND IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION SYNDROME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, over 800,000 Americans have 
chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS, also known as chronic fatigue and immune 
dysfunction syndrome, or CFIDS. This is a complex and debilitating 
medical disorder characterized by profound exhaustion, intense 
widespread pain, and severe problems with memory and concentration. It 
usually lasts for years; and recovery, in the few cases where that 
occurs, is slow and unpredictable. Because the symptoms of CFS are 
common to other conditions and no diagnostic tests exist, it is often 
overlooked by health care providers. In fact, government studies show 
that only 15 percent of those who have CFS have been diagnosed by their 
doctor. It is even more difficult for CFS patients to get appropriate 
symptomatic treatment or to obtain disability benefits if they become 
too disabled to work.
  The cause of CFS is not yet known. Much of what we do know about CFS 
has been documented by researchers funded by the National Institutes of 
Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here 
are some facts: women age 30 to 50 are at greatest risk for developing 
CFS, and Latinos and African Americans are at greater risk for CFS than 
Caucasians or Asians. Children can get CFS too, although it is more 
common in teens than younger children. The condition may begin suddenly 
as with the flu, or it may build gradually over time. Physical or 
mental exertion makes symptoms significantly worse.
  Individuals with CFS are severely impacted by the disease; and 
according to the CDC studies, their functional status is the same as or 
worse than those suffering from obstructive pulmonary disease, 
osteoarthritis, and coronary heart disease. People with CFS often lose 
the ability to maintain full-time employment, attend school, and 
participate fully in family life. Symptomatic treatment can provide 
some improved quality of life, but is generally inadequate in helping 
patients return to normal activity levels. The Nation's economy is also 
seriously affected. The annual direct cost of lost

[[Page 11078]]

productivity due to CFS is $9.1 billion, an amount equivalent to our 
largest corporations' annual profits. This sum does not include medical 
costs or disability benefits.
  There is hope, though. The Department of Health and Human Services 
has chartered a CFS Advisory Committee that meets quarterly to advise 
the Secretary for Health on research and on education policy as it 
relates to CFS. The CDC is conducting promising research that may lead 
to a diagnostic test. Other researchers are following important leads 
that may improve treatment and deepen understanding of the way CFS 
affects various body systems. However, in fiscal year 2004, just $15 
million was spent by the Federal Government to conduct research on this 
devastating illness.
  CFS consistently ranks at the bottom of the NIH funding charts; and 
even during the period when Congress was doubling the NIH budget, 
support for CFS research declined. A June 2003 commitment by NIH Deputy 
Director Vivian Pinn to issue a request for applications for CFS has 
not been fulfilled. The Secretary for Health has not yet acted on a set 
of 11 recommendations delivered by the CFS Advisory Committee on August 
23, 2004.
  Many challenges remain, and more Federal funding is needed to answer 
basic questions. CFS warrants the support of this Congress, and we must 
find a way to do more for the hundreds of thousands of Americans 
affected by this serious illness.

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