IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 347 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Department 
of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, should take 
action to educate the public on the importance of adequate iodine intake. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2008 
Mr. BACA submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the 
Department of Health and Human Services, through the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 
Food and Drug Administration, should take action to 
educate the public on the importance of adequate iodine 
intake. 
Whereas perchlorate at low levels impacts the production of 
thyroid hormones in women with iodine deficiency; 
Whereas thyroid hormone is critically important for fetal 
brain development; 
Whereas iodine deficiency is widely recognized as the leading 
and most readily preventable cause of mental impairment 
in children; 
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•HCON 347 IH 
Whereas a research study published in 2006 by the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 36 per-
cent of the 1,111 women in such study were found to be 
iodine deficient; 
Whereas the researchers in such study found that in iodine 
deficient women, exposure to low levels of perchlorate 
may impact the production of thyroid hormones; 
Whereas such study raises concern that a large number of 
people in the United States, particularly women of child-
bearing age, may lack adequate iodine intake; 
Whereas some research has found strong links between iodine 
deficiency and attention deficit disorders; 
Whereas mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy has been as-
sociated with subtle cognitive deficits in children; 
Whereas in 2005, the National Research Council emphasized 
the importance of ensuring that all pregnant women have 
adequate iodine intake and, as a first step, recommended 
that consideration be given to adding iodine to all pre-
natal vitamins; 
Whereas perchlorate is a contaminant found in water and in 
many foods, including milk, and is known to inhibit thy-
roid function at high levels; 
Whereas perchlorate can impair thyroid function by inhibiting 
the uptake of iodine and reducing the amount of iodine 
available for hormone production; however, this impair-
ment can be avoided or overcome with adequate iodine in-
take and stores of thyroid hormone; 
Whereas one way to minimize the action of perchlorate on the 
thyroid is to increase iodine intake; 
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•HCON 347 IH 
Whereas an increase in iodine intake would benefit the entire 
United States population, given that iodine intake de-
creased by approximately 50 percent between 1971–1974 
and 2001–2002, and conversely the proportions of people 
with mild or moderate iodine deficiency increased sub-
stantially; 
Whereas such mild or moderate iodine deficiency can be over-
come by increasing the iodine content of salt, making salt 
iodination mandatory, and adding iodine to all multiple 
vitamin products; and 
Whereas an optimal method of protecting women and infants 
is to remove perchlorate from all potable water sources 
including groundwater plumes: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the Sec-
retary of the Department of Health and Human Services, 
through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
and the Food and Drug Administration, should take ac-
tion to educate the public on the importance of adequate 
iodine intake to— 
(1) prevent mental impairment in children; 
(2) minimize the action of perchlorate on the 
thyroid; and 
(3) avoid the other effects of iodine deficiency. 
Æ 
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