IV

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 115

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives concerning health

promotion and disease prevention.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 4, 2001

Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. DICKS, Mr. BURTON

of Indiana, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. DAVIS of

Florida, Mr. WAMP, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr.

BLUMENAUER, Mr. HOLT, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. GORDON, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. WATKINS, Mr. WICKER, Mr. FRANK, Mr. KINGSTON, Ms.

HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. LUTHER, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. BALDACCI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. UPTON, Mr.

COYNE, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. GREENWOOD,

Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania,

Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, and Ms. SLAUGHTER)

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee

on Energy and Commerce

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives

concerning health promotion and disease prevention.

Whereas the New England Journal of Medicine has reported

that modifiable lifestyle factors such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition, unmanaged stress, and

obesity account for approximately 50 percent of the premature deaths in the United States;
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Whereas the New England Journal of Medicine has reported

that spending on chronic diseases related to lifestyle and

other preventable diseases accounts for an estimated 70

percent of total health care spending;

Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has

concluded that the health burden of these behaviors falls

in greatest proportion on older adults, young children, racial and ethnic minority groups, and citizens who have

less education and income;

Whereas business leaders in the United States have asserted

that the economic burden of medical care diverts corporate resources from investments that could produce

greater financial returns, and reduces the wages paid to

employees;

Whereas the Office of Management and Budget reports that

the medicaid and medicare programs consume an increasingly large portion of government funding;

Whereas the American Journal of Public Health reports that

the financial burden of the medicare program will increase substantially as the population ages and increasing

numbers of people are covered by that program;

Whereas a viable method to control medical care costs for the

nation is to enhance the health of the American people

and reduce the need for medical services;

Whereas the American Journal of Health Promotion reports

that a growing research base demonstrates that lifestyle

factors can be modified to improve health, improve the

quality of life, reduce medical care costs, and enhance

workplace productivity through health promotion programs;
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Whereas the Health Care Financing Administration has determined that less than 5 percent of health care spending

is devoted to the whole area of public health, and a very

small portion of that 5 percent is devoted to health promotion;

Whereas significant additional work is required to develop the

basic and applied science of health promotion;

Whereas additional research is required to clarify the impact

of health promotion programs on long term health behaviors, health conditions, morbidity and mortality, medical

care utilization and cost, as well as quality of life and

productivity;

Whereas the Institute of Medicine has proclaimed that additional research is required to determine the most effective

strategies at the individual, organizational, community,

and societal level to create lasting health behavior

changes, reduce medical utilization and enhance workplace productivity;

Whereas health promotion leaders proclaim that additional

research is required to develop strategies to reach all

groups with special attention focused on older adults,

young children, racial and ethnic minority groups and

citizens who have less education and income;

Whereas health promotion leaders proclaim that significant

efforts are required to develop standardized management

and clinical protocols for programs and to disseminate

these protocols to scientists and practitioners in health

care, workplace, school, and other community settings;

Whereas health promotion leaders proclaim that information

on the benefits of health promotion programs must be
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disseminated to policy makers in public and private sector settings;

Whereas health promotion leaders proclaim that significant

efforts are required to develop programs to enhance lifestyle in school, workplace, health care, and other community settings;

Whereas investments in health promotion contributes directly

to current efforts of Ending Health Disparities, the

Leading Health Indicators, and Healthy People 2010;

and

Whereas Research!America reports that most American citizens and scientists have shown strong support for increased investment in health promotion: Now, therefore,

be it

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘National Health

4 Promotion Resolution of 2001’’.

5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

6 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that

7 the powers of the Federal Government should be

8 utilized—

9 (1) to enhance the science base required to fully

10 develop the field of health promotion and disease

11 prevention; and
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1 (2) to explore how strategies can integrate life2 style improvement programs into national policy,

3 health care workplaces, families, and communities.

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