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 Vir-
ginia, Mr. WATKINS, Mr. WICKER, Mr. FRANK, Mr. KINGSTON, Ms.
HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. LUTHER, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. CAS-
TLE, 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, sed-
entary lifestyle, poor nutrition, unmanaged stress, and
obesity account for approximately 50 percent of the pre-
mature 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, ra-
cial 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 cor-
porate 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 increas-
ingly large portion of government funding;
Whereas the American Journal of Public Health reports that
the financial burden of the medicare program will in-
crease 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 pro-
grams;
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Whereas the Health Care Financing Administration has de-
termined 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 pro-
motion;
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 behav-
iors, 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 addi-
tional 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 work-
place 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 sec-
tor settings;
Whereas health promotion leaders proclaim that significant
efforts are required to develop programs to enhance life-
style in school, workplace, health care, and other commu-
nity 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 citi-
zens and scientists have shown strong support for in-
creased investment in health promotion: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘National Health
Promotion Resolution of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that
the powers of the Federal Government should be
utilized—
(1) to enhance the science base required to fully
develop the field of health promotion and disease
prevention; and
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(2) to explore how strategies can integrate life-
style improvement programs into national policy,
health care workplaces, families, and communities.
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