[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10191-10192]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 MAY AS WORLD HEPATITIS AWARENESS MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 2010

  Mr. HONDA. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize May as World Hepatitis 
Awareness Month and May 19th as World Hepatitis Day.
  I commend the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Foreign 
Affairs Committee for their support for raising awareness of the risks 
and consequences of undiagnosed Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C infections 
and the need for governmental and public health actions. I also want to 
thank my good friends Rep. Ed Towns and Rep. Bill Cassidy for working 
with me on hepatitis issues and speaking out on World Hepatitis Day.
  An estimated 5.3 million people living in the United States are 
infected with either Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. Hepatitis viruses are 
highly contagious viruses that infect the liver, cause liver disease, 
liver cancer, and premature death. Hepatitis patients are found in 
every Congressional district in every state across the U.S. Tragically, 
more than half are unaware of their status. Hepatitis is often called a 
silent crisis, but we cannot afford to be silent any more, and we will 
not be silent any more.
  I introduced H.R. 3974, the Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Control 
and Prevention Act of 2009 to unite the Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C 
community in a singular cause. H.R. 3974 will amend the Public Health 
Service Act to make critical improvements for education for patients 
and health care providers, access to immunization and screening, and 
surveillance and referral to care programs. The Act will also put in 
place a coordinated federal response to fight viral hepatitis. Through 
this legislation, and with strategic investments in public health and 
prevention programs, the lives of tens of thousands of people across 
the nation will be improved.
  I commend the Obama Administration and Assistant Secretary for Health 
at the Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Howard Koh for 
developing an intradepartmental viral hepatitis working group to 
improve the public health response to the disease, and for working with 
outside partners to increase access to quality health care and reduce 
the health effects from viral hepatitis.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support the goals and ideals of World 
Hepatitis Awareness

[[Page 10192]]

Month and to support H.R 3974. Through comprehensive education, 
research, and coordination, we can highlight the global nature of 
chronic viral hepatitis epidemics, work to improve the quality of life 
for those diagnosed, and prevent further spread of the disease.

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