[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17492]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        AMERICAN DIABETES MONTH.

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of November 
as American Diabetes Month. National studies estimate 23.6 million 
Americans have diabetes and a quarter of people with diabetes do not 
know they have this disease. The State of South Dakota is home to 
nearly 40,000 diabetic adults, a figure which does not take into 
account the number of people who are undiagnosed, who are living with 
prediabetes, or those under age 18 who have child-onset diabetes, which 
is a growing problem linked to the increase of childhood obesity.
  American Diabetes Month focuses on increased awareness of the disease 
and its risks. The disease carries with it an increased rate of heart 
disease and stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease, blindness, and 
amputation of the lower extremities, among other associated health 
problems. As the prevalence of diabetes increases, we are beginning to 
understand the costs to both our citizens' health and to our economy. 
The high costs to our government in direct medical and indirect costs, 
coupled with the personal costs of rising health care coverage and 
treatment, make diabetes control and prevention a national priority.
  Throughout my career in the U.S. House and Senate, I have strongly 
supported initiatives that would advance research, funding and 
education about diabetes, such as those conducted at the National 
Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive 
and Kidney Diseases, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
  Two special funding programs hold great promise in our efforts to 
prevent and cure diabetes among South Dakotans and our Nation at large. 
The Special Funding Program for Type One Diabetes Research provides 
additional funding for the National Institutes of Health to expand its 
juvenile diabetes research efforts. The program has funded clinical 
trials to test various drugs and therapies, increased understanding 
about reversing complications from the disease, improving our ability 
to predict risk of development, and helped develop new technologies for 
treatment.
  I also am a proud supporter of the Special Diabetes Program for 
Indians, SDPI, which has addressed the high incidence of diabetes among 
Native Americans for the past 13 years by providing grants to tribal 
and urban Indian programs to create or enhance diabetes prevention and 
treatment efforts. Through SDPI, the Indian Health Service has helped 
reduce diabetes-related complications, improve glucose and blood 
pressure levels and increase participation in treatment programs 
throughout the Native American population. Despite these advances, SDPI 
has found the incidence of type 2 diabetes among Indian children is 
steadily rising; as a result, they have developed plans to increase 
early education and prevention efforts in schools.
  This year, Congress achieved comprehensive reform of our Nation's 
health care system. This historic legislation will improve access to 
quality, affordable health care for all Americans and help our country 
better manage the treatment and cost of chronic diseases. Given the 
cost of diabetes to American's personal finances and our economy, it is 
clear that increased awareness and funding for diabetes education and 
prevention should be a priority. I am pleased health care reform 
recognizes the significant impact of diabetes to our nation and 
includes efforts to specifically target the disease, including the 
creation of a National Diabetes Prevention Program.
  American Diabetes Month provides us an opportunity to learn more 
about this disease, raise awareness about effective prevention 
strategies, encourage additional funding for research, and address the 
overall impact of diabetes on our Nation and our families.

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