[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 27886]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING NATIONAL LEAD POISONING PREVENTION WEEK AND CHILDHOOD LEAD 
                       POISONING PREVENTION WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 22, 2007

  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize this 
week, October 21-27, 2007, as National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 
and as Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week in the State of 
Maryland.
  In recent decades, researchers have discovered the harmful effects 
for children who are exposed to lead products. Lead poisoning in 
children impacts brain function, resulting in reduced intelligence, 
learning difficulties, behavioral problems, and other health 
consequences. Fortunately, lead poisoning from paint in homes is 100 
percent preventable. The public needs better information about the 
dangers of lead exposure.
  This bill will help parents hire a certified risk assessor to 
determine if there is lead paint in their homes. With this vital 
information, parents can determine how to keep their children safe from 
lead poisoning.
  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, over 300,000 
American children ages 1-5 years have blood-lead levels greater than 
the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, 10 
micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood.
  In 2006, over 1,200 Baltimore children under the age of 6 had blood-
lead levels equal to or higher than the CDC recommended level. That 
number has dropped significantly in recent years, but more must be 
done.
  The Federal Government aims to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in 
the United States as a major public health problem by the year 2010. In 
order to achieve this goal, several Federal agencies including the EPA, 
the CDC, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, are 
working together through various grant programs to help individual 
citizens, non-profits, and the States in their clean-up efforts.
  Non-profits around the country are actively working with Federal and 
State Governments to educate the public about the harmful effects of 
lead exposure. One such organization based in Baltimore, the Coalition 
to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, has been working tirelessly to reach 
out, educate, and advocate on behalf of children and their families 
impacted by lead exposure. Organizations such as the Coalition to End 
Childhood Lead Poisoning play an important role in efforts to eliminate 
childhood lead poisoning in the next 3 years.
  In addition to the work done by non-profit organizations and federal 
and state agencies, I am proposing a Federal tax credit for homeowners 
that would help offset the costs of cleaning up lead paint in their 
homes. Today, I am introducing the Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 
2007, which would encourage homeowners and landlords to remove lead 
from homes in order to decrease the number of children who suffer from 
the effects of lead exposure.
  I hope that, through these combined efforts, we will eliminate 
childhood lead poisoning by 2010.

                          ____________________