IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1381 

Expressing the sense of the House that there should be an increased Federal 

commitment prioritizing prevention and public health for all people in 

the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2008 

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. 

MORAN of Virginia, Ms. DEGETTE, and Mr. CASTLE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House that there should be 

an increased Federal commitment prioritizing prevention 

and public health for all people in the United States. 

Whereas the United States has the highest rate of preventable deaths among 19 industrialized U.N. nations and 

lags behind 28 other U.N. nations in life expectancy; 

Whereas various research studies suggest that nearly 60 percent of premature deaths in the United States are attributable to environmental conditions, social circumstances, 

and behavioral choices that could be addressed through 

prevention; 

Whereas of the more than $2,200,000,000,000 in health care 

spent nationally in the United States every year, more 


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•HRES 1381 IH 

than any other nation in the world, less than 4 cents out 

of every dollar is spent on prevention and public health; 

Whereas chronic diseases are the leading causes of preventable death and disability in the United States, accounting 

for 7 out of every 10 deaths and killing more than 

1,700,000 people in the United States every year; 

Whereas these often preventable chronic diseases account for 

75 percent of health care spending in the United States, 

including more than 96 cents out of every dollar spent 

in Medicare and more than 83 cents out of every dollar 

spent in Medicaid; 

Whereas these chronic diseases cost the United States an additional $1,000,000,000,000 each year in lost productivity, and are a major contributing factor to the overall 

poor health that is placing the Nation’s economic security 

and competitiveness in jeopardy; 

Whereas the number of people with chronic conditions is rapidly increasing, and it is estimated that if we do not intervene now that by 2025 nearly half of the population 

will suffer from at least one chronic disease; 

Whereas current research has shown that increasing to 90 

percent the use of just 5 preventive services, including— 

(1) the portion of adults who take aspirin daily to 

prevent heart disease; 

(2) the portion of smokers who are advised by a 

health professional to quit and are offered medication or 

other assistance; 

(3) the portion of adults age 50 and older who are 

up to date with any recommended screening for colorectal 

cancer; 


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(4) the portion of adults age 50 and older immunized against flu annually; and 

(5) the portion of women age 40 and older who have 

been screened for breast cancer in the past 2 years, 

would save more than 100,000 lives each year in the 

United States; and 

Whereas research has shown that investing in communitylevel interventions that promote and enable proper nutrition, increased access to physical activity, and smoking 

cessation programs can prevent and mitigate chronic diseases, improve quality of life, increase economic productivity, and reduce health care costs: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes that in order to reduce the dis3 ease burden and health care costs associated with 

4 preventable disease and injury, it is imperative that 

5 this Nation strengthen its public health system to— 

6 (A) provide all persons in the United 

7 States with the information, resources, and en8 vironment they need to make healthier choices 

9 and live healthier lives; and 

10 (B) protect all people in this country from 

11 health threats beyond their control, such as bio12 terrorism, natural disasters, infectious disease 

13 outbreaks, and environmental hazards; 

14 (2) commits to creating public health strategies 

15 to eliminate health disparities and improve the 


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1 health of all people in the United States, regardless 

2 of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status; 

3 (3) supports the prioritizing of public policies 

4 focusing on the prevention of disease and injury, and 

5 calls for community-based programs to support 

6 healthy lifestyles, including those that promote prop7 er nutrition and increased access to physical activity; 

8 (4) urges the expansion of the 5 prevention 

9 strategies of daily aspirin therapy, smoking ces10 sation, colorectal cancer screening, annual flu immu11 nizations, and breast cancer screening that can save 

12 more than 100,000 lives each year; 

13 (5) believes that the congressional budget proc14 ess should reflect the significant savings associated 

15 with investments in prevention of disease and injury, 

16 and therefore strongly encourages the Congressional 

17 Budget Office to consider the health care savings as18 sociated with reduced chronic disease burden due to 

19 clinical and community preventive services and pro20 grams when formulating its health care cost esti21 mates; and 

22 (6) pledges to helping the United States be the 

23 healthiest nation by supporting an increased invest24 ment in Federal public health programs to at least 


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1 1 percent of total Federal spending within 5 years 

2 of the passage of this resolution. 

Æ 


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