[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8567]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL ASTHMA AWARENESS MONTH

  (Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, May is Asthma Awareness Month. As co-chair of 
the House Asthma and Allergy Caucus, I would like to talk about what we 
can do for our constituents living with asthma.
  About 24 million Americans have asthma, and more than one-quarter are 
children. Asthma costs our health system more than $56 billion every 
year, along with billions lost in lost productivity.
  In New York, where more than one and a half million live with asthma, 
we are all too familiar with these staggering costs which come on top 
of a heartbreaking human toll: about 3,600 Americans die every year 
because of asthma.
  I have asked appropriators to fund the CDC's National Asthma Control 
Program which helps States monitor and treat asthma at $29 million. 
This program has brought down asthma-related costs by billions and 
literally saves lives.
  Since the program's inception, deaths from asthma episodes have 
fallen nearly one-quarter. So this works. It is money well spent, and 
we can't afford not to have it.
  In honor of Asthma Awareness Month, I implore my colleagues to 
support this program and bring Americans living with asthma much-needed 
relief.

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