[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26431]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING NOVEMBER AS AMERICAN DIABETES MONTH

  (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to call attention to 
November as American Diabetes Month.
  Today, 24 million Americans have diabetes, and in this 1 minute that 
it takes me to give this speech, three more Americans will be 
diagnosed. The rate of diabetes cases is definitely on the rise, and it 
is becoming more severe. Based on our current trends, one out of every 
three children will eventually suffer from diabetes. Unlike cancer, 
heart disease and strokes, the death rate due to complications from 
diabetes has actually increased.
  Diabetes not only exacts great personal harm; it imposes financial 
harm as well. Diabetes in the United States costs $174 billion 
annually, and the cost of caring for someone with diabetes accounts for 
$1 out of every $5 in total health care costs.
  Changing this trend begins with raising awareness about diabetes. So, 
Mr. Speaker, let's all commit to doing more to educate Americans on the 
seriousness of this disease.

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