[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10357]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       LEAD POISONING PREVENTION

  (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the 
majority's proposal to slash funding for the Nation's lead poisoning 
prevention efforts.
  At a time when we should be working to eradicate lead poisoning, the 
majority's Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations 
package cuts funding to the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard 
Control by over 60 percent. We need to be focusing more on our efforts 
of ensuring that children live, play and learn in healthy environments 
free from the lead hazard and not less.
  The number of children in the United States who are suffering from 
lead poisoning remains unacceptably high. A recent report by the 
Centers for Disease Control found that 1 in every 38 children has 
dangerous blood levels. Those levels lead to cognitive and behavioral 
problems, a loss of IQ points, and a lifetime of adverse health 
effects. It is estimated that lead exposure costs the Nation more than 
$50 billion in lifetime productivity losses.
  Over the past two decades, HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead 
Hazard Control has successfully treated 168,000 units for lead hazards 
and has improved the lead safety. This is no time to backtrack.

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