[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13734]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF THE CHILDREN'S HEALTH FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 
                       AUTHORITY RESTORATION ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 29, 2006

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to introduce legislation 
to restore the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) authority to regulate 
marketing to children under the age of 18 in order to help eliminate an 
epidemic of overweight and obesity that studies link to pervasive 
advertising of junk food to the Nation's youth. A similar provision has 
been introduced as part of a larger bill in the Senate, and former 
President Clinton is taking a leading role in efforts to control the 
rapid increase in overweight and obesity in children. Yet Congress has 
failed to take decisive action, despite definitive studies that show 
that childhood obesity has become one of the Nation's most serious 
health issues, creating a surge in debilitating diseases we are seeing 
for the first time in kids.
  The Centers for Disease Control reports that 12.5 million children 
and adolescents, ages 2-19, are overweight, a rate that has tripled in 
the last 40 years. As a result, the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in 
children, a disease that is mainly associated with adults, has become 
widespread in recent years. Overweight children have a more than 70 
percent chance of being overweight adults, putting them at risk for 
many serious health conditions, such as high blood pressure, asthma and 
heart disease. Many of these children are obese in part because they 
watch so much television, on the average, over 2 hours a day. However, 
a study by the congressionally chartered Institute of Medicine (IOM) 
found extraordinary growth in new food products targeted to children, 
from just 52 new product introductions in 1994 to close to 500 just 
last year. Significantly, the IOM report finds that advertisements 
during children's programming feature foods high in fat, with little to 
no nutritional value.
  The problem is even greater in programming geared toward African 
American television consumers, adults and children alike. A summer 2005 
survey of programming on Black Entertainment Television (BET) found 
that 66 percent of the ads were for fast food commercials. The study 
monitored commercials during the afternoon hours, when children watch 
cartoons and ``tween'' shows. The WB Network and Disney Channel were 
also monitored in the study. During that time slot, over 1,000 ads were 
shown on all three channels. Only 34 percent of ads on the WB promoted 
fast foods, and none at all on the Disney channel. McDonald's was the 
leading fast food advertiser on BET. Further, 82 percent of 
advertisements on BET were for soda, with the WB at 11 percent. The 
Disney Channel accounted for only 6 percent of soda advertisements. 
Advertisements for snacks accounted for 60 percent of BET programming, 
40 percent on the Disney Channel and none on the WB. As a result of 
increased fast food advertising, children are more likely to consume an 
additional 167 calories a day, a caloric intake that further 
exacerbates already high obesity rates. Currently, obesity affects 
nearly 18 percent of black children compared to 14 percent of white 
children.
  These studies are evidence that the estimated $15 billion spent on 
junk food marketing in the last year is adversely affecting the eating 
habits, and consequently, the health of our nation's youth. This 
marketing is especially problematic in poor, predominately African 
American neighborhoods, many of which have no access to fresh and 
healthy food products due to a dearth in neighborhood grocery stores. 
This problem is highlighted here in the District where the lowest 
income wards attract corner convenience stores that feature unhealthy, 
fatty foods in abundance, but do not provide foods of significant 
nutritional value that assist both in the intellectual and physical 
growth and development of children.
  The FTC and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have historically 
shared joint jurisdiction over advertising to children. The FCC first 
implemented regulations on children's advertising in 1974, setting 
limits on the amount of advertising per hour during children's 
programs, but these limits do not address the content of the ads. Under 
current law, the Children's Television Act of 1990, advertising during 
children's programming is restricted to no more than 10\1/2\ minutes 
per hour on the weekends, and 12 minutes per hour on the weekdays. 
However, these ``restrictions'' are simply an adoption of what is 
already the established industry norm.
  In 1978, the Federal Trade Commission recommended banning television 
advertising to children under the age of eight after research at the 
time indicated that marketing to young children was unfair because 
young children do not understand the persuasive intent of advertising, 
thereby establishing an unfair and deceptive act or practice. However, 
industry lobbyists filed a lawsuit against the FTC, and lobbied 
Congress instead to pass the FTC Improvement Act of 1980, which 
stripped the FTC of its authority to issue industry-wide regulations to 
stop unfair advertising practices.
  The debate still continues, however, as the IOM's recent report 
recommends banning television advertising to children even up to the 
age of twelve, and the American Psychological Association (APA) says 
that children under the age of nine cannot understand persuasive 
intent. Nevertheless, the methods for advertising products to children 
have become more sophisticated. Marketing strategies now include 
Internet games, specialized product placement in stores, as well as 
cartoon character endorsements like those that featured Sponge Bob 
Square Pants endorsing Burger King products, and promoting unhealthy 
eating habits.
  Ironically, funding will lapse this year for a successful program I 
cosponsored that turned television on its head, and according to 
studies, has effectively used TV to get children active. The Youth 
Media Campaign--VERBTM program, the brainchild of the former 
chair of the Labor/HHS subcommittee, Jon Porter, with whom I 
collaborated when I had a similar bill, received no funding in the 
President's Fiscal Year 2007 budget, and the program, despite its 
demonstrated effectiveness, has received less and less funding since 
its inception, from an initial appropriation of $125 million. The 
VERBTM program focuses children on physical activity at a 
time when physical education is often no longer a required component of 
school curricula. Through print, radio, internet and television 
advertising targeted at the nation's 21 million children aged 9-13 
years, VERBTM programming emphasized free-time, outside of 
the classroom where children traditionally are at play. The program 
also featured a multicultural message, giving extra focus to African 
American and Hispanic youth who have the highest incidence of childhood 
obesity. Most important, two recent evaluations of VERBTM 
have found the program to be remarkably effective. VERBTM 
offered the first concrete hope of progress against the alarming surge 
in debilitating diseases we are now seeing for the first time in 
children, and I sincerely hope that the Congress will again fund this 
program to ensure its continued success.
  However, I am pleased to join with Senator Tom Harkin, who has 
introduced this language in the Senate as part of a more comprehensive 
bill promoting healthy lifestyles and disease prevention. I am also 
pleased to join with others, such as former President Clinton, who has 
joined with the Nickelodeon Channel to promote responsible, healthy 
food choices and lifestyles. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.

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