I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 875

To provide for programs to develop and implement integrated cockroach

management programs in urban communities that are effective in reducing health risks to inner city residents, especially children, suffering

from asthma and asthma-related illnesses.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 25, 1999

Mr. RUSH (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr.

PAYNE, Mr. FORD, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mrs.

CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSEN, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. FROST, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. HILLIARD, Mrs. JONES of

Ohio, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr.

KUCINICH, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. SMITH of

New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To provide for programs to develop and implement integrated

cockroach management programs in urban communities

that are effective in reducing health risks to inner city

residents, especially children, suffering from asthma and

asthma-related illnesses.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Urban Asthma Reduc3 tion Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds that—

6 (1) certain pests of public health importance

7 occur and proliferate at higher rates in urban envi8 ronments;

9 (2) these pests may spread infectious disease

10 and contribute to the worsening of chronic res11 piratory illnesses, including asthma;

12 (3) pollution, smoking, pesticides, and other en13 vironmental factors, including exposure to cock14 roaches, may contribute to and worsen the condition

15 of individuals, especially children, suffering from

16 asthma;

17 (4) the widespread use of pesticides poses

18 health risks to children, as documented by the Na19 tional Research Council;

20 (5) the number of Americans suffering from

21 Asthma has increased 75 percent since 1980;

22 (6) more than 15 million Americans suffer from

23 an asthma;

24 (7) children residing in the poorest neighbor25 hoods of some of America’s largest cities suffer dis26 proportionately from asthma;
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1 (8) research supported by the National Insti2 tutes of Health has conclusively demonstrated that

3 the combination of cockroach allergen and exposure

4 to the insects is an important cause of asthma-relat5 ed illnesses and hospitalizations among children in

6 inner-city areas of the United States;

7 (9) cities outside the United States have devel8 oped and implemented effective systems of cockroach

9 management;

10 (10) integrated pest management is a cost-ef11 fective approach to pest control that emphasizes pre12 vention, and uses a range of techniques, including

13 property maintenance and cleaning, and uses pes14 ticides as means of last resort;

15 (11) integrated pest management has been used

16 successfully by Federal agencies, including the Gen17 eral Services Administration and the National For18 est Service;

19 (12) reducing exposure to cockroach allergen,

20 as part of an integrated approach to asthma man21 agement, may be a cost-effective way of reducing the

22 social and economic costs of the disease; and

23 (13) no current Federal funding exists specifi24 cally to assist cities in developing and implementing

25 integrated strategies to reduce cockroach infestation.
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1 SEC. 3. PREVENTIVE HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

2 BLOCK GRANT; SYSTEMS FOR REDUCING

3 ASTHMA AND ASTHMA-RELATED ILLNESSES

4 THROUGH URBAN COCKROACH MANAGE5 MENT.

6 Section 1904(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act

7 (42 U.S.C. 300w–3(a)(1)) is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and

9 (F) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively;

10 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol11 lowing subparagraph:

12 ‘‘(E) The establishment, operation, and coordi13 nation of effective and cost-efficient systems to re14 duce the prevalence of asthma and asthma-related

15 illnesses among urban populations, especially chil16 dren, by reducing the level of exposure to cockroach

17 allergen through the use of integrated pest manage18 ment, as applied to cockroaches. Amounts expended

19 for such systems may include the costs of structural

20 rehabilitation of housing, public schools, and other

21 public facilities to reduce cockroach infestation, the

22 costs of building maintenance, and the costs of pro23 grams to promote community participation in the

24 carrying out at such sites of integrated pest manage25 ment as applied to cockroaches. For purposes of this

26 subparagraph, the term ‘integrated pest manage-
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1 ment’ means an approach to the management of

2 pests in public facilities that minimizes or avoids the

3 use of pesticide chemicals through a combination of

4 appropriate practices regarding the maintenance,

5 cleaning, and monitoring of such sites.’’;

6 (3) in subparagraph (F) (as redesignated by

7 paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A)

8 through (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A)

9 through (E)’’; and

10 (4) in subparagraph (G) (as so redesignated),

11 by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) through (E)’’ and

12 inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) through (F).’’.

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