[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7234]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1410
                THE EPA CONTINUES ITS WAR ON ASTHMATICS

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, people going to the Environmental 
Protection Agency's Web site find that May is National Asthma Month. 
Many people might be surprised to know that starting January 1, 2012, 
the Environmental Protection Agency has prevented the sale of the only 
over-the-counter asthma inhaler upon which millions of Americans have 
relied for emergency asthma treatment.
  What is most alarming is that this inhaler was taken off the market 
not because it was unsafe or ineffective for treating asthma--it had 
been around for 50 years safely and effectively treating acute asthma 
attacks--but the Environmental Protection Agency claimed that the 
miniscule amount of chlorofluorocarbon contained was creating a hole in 
the ozone. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully submit that the Nation's 
asthmatics are not causing a hole in the ozone layer.
  When these inhalers were taken offline, we were told that the Food 
and Drug Administration would quickly approve a substitute inhaler; but 
here we are months and months and months later with no inhaler in 
sight.
  What has been the response of the EPA? They've been dismissive of 
Congress' concerns.
  I urge people to contact their Member of Congress to bring back these 
inhalers that have served so many people so well for so long.

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