[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 7048-7049]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 535--RECOGNIZING APRIL 28, 2008, AS ``NATIONAL 
                         HEALTHY SCHOOLS DAY''

  Mr. REID (for Mrs. Clinton (for herself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Bayh, Mr. 
Feingold, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Casey)) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 535

       Whereas over half of schools in the United States have 
     problems linked to indoor air quality;
       Whereas children are more vulnerable to environmental 
     hazards as they breathe in more air per pound of body weight 
     due to their developing systems;
       Whereas children spend an average of 30 to 50 hours per 
     week in school;
       Whereas poor indoor environmental quality is associated 
     with a wide rage of problems that include poor concentration, 
     respiratory illnesses, learning difficulties, and cancer;
       Whereas research suggests that children attending schools 
     in poor condition score 11 percent lower on standardized 
     tests than students who attend schools in good condition;
       Whereas an average of 1 out of every 13 school-age children 
     has asthma, the leading cause of school absenteeism, 
     accounting for approximately 14,700,000 missed school days 
     each year;
       Whereas 17 separate studies all found positive health 
     impacts from improved indoor air-quality, ranging from 13.5 
     percent up to 87 percent improvement;
       Whereas our Nation's schools spent approximately 
     $8,000,000,000 on energy costs in the last school year, 
     causing officials to make very difficult decisions on cutting 
     back much needed academic programs in efforts to maintain 
     heat and electricity;
       Whereas healthy and high performance schools designed to 
     reduce energy and maintenance costs, provide cleaner air, 
     improve lighting, and reduce exposures to toxic substances 
     provide a healthier and safer learning environment for 
     children and improved academic achievement and well-being;
       Whereas green and healthy schools save on average $100,000 
     per year on energy costs, enough to hire 2 teachers, buy 200 
     new computers, or purchase 5,000 new textbooks;
       Whereas converting all the Nation's schools to green 
     schools would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 33,200,000 
     metric tons;
       Whereas Congress has demonstrated its interest in this 
     compelling issue by including the Healthy High-Performance 
     Schools Program in the No Child Left Behind Act and the 
     Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; and
       Whereas our schools have the great responsibility of 
     guiding the future of our children and our Nation: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate recognizes April 28, 2008, as 
     ``National Healthy Schools Day''.

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, today is National Healthy Schools Day--
established to build awareness and promote healthy school environments 
for our children and school personnel.
  Many organizations--including the Healthy Schools Network in New 
York--have worked together over the years to educate their communities 
as well as local, State, and Federal elected officials of the 
conditions that many of our children and teachers are subjected to on a 
daily basis. I strongly believe the work of these organizations is 
crucial in fostering the development and well being of our Nation's 
children. That is why I am proud to join them in this effort as the 
sponsor of resolution recognizing April 28, 2008 as National Healthy 
Schools Day. By recognizing this day, Congress can promote healthy 
school environments for all children, teachers, principals, and school 
staff.
  Over half of our Nation' schools have environmental problems linked 
to poor indoor air quality AQ. Poor IAQ can cause a wide range of 
academic problems for the millions of children attending these schools, 
including lack of concentration, respiratory illnesses, learning 
difficulties, and even cancer. Furthermore, millions of school absences 
each year are attributed to health problems caused by poor IAQ or other 
unhealthy school environments.
  It is imperative that we address these problems. From holding 
demonstrations on healthy cleaning practices to conducting workshops on 
how to design a healthy, high-performance school, the Healthy Schools 
Network along with other partner organizations will provide practical 
ways to make our schools healthier, safer learning environments for our 
children and teachers.

[[Page 7049]]

  Congress has demonstrated its interest in this compelling issue by 
including the Healthy High-Performance Schools Program in the No Child 
Left Behind Act and the Energy Independence and Security Act. I 
encourage my colleagues to continue to fight on our children's behalf 
by adopting this resolution.
  We must spread awareness of the environmental health of our Nation's 
schools. I commend those across the Nation who are using National 
Healthy Schools Day to do just that.

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