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April 2006 Dear Friends: I hope this month’s edition of the Harkin Health Update finds you healthy and well. April is the time of the year in Washington when the cherry blossoms bloom and Congress debates the budget. Although the House of Representatives was unable to come to agreement on a budget before leaving for the Easter recess, I am proud to inform you that the Senate overwhelmingly supported the Specter-Harkin Amendment to restore $7 billion in cuts to health, education and labor programs. Also, I would like to call your attention to an amendment offered by Senator Specter and I to the Supplemental Appropriations bill to provide $2.3 billion in funding for pandemic flu preparedness. This amendment was approved by the Appropriations Committee. I am grateful to those of you, and the organizations to which you belong, who provided crucial support to each of these efforts. Please see the “Recent Press Releases” section below for more information about each amendment. Just last week I had the pleasure of joining with Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and my colleagues in the House of Representatives, Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Chris Shays (R-CT), in announcing the introduction of the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act (S. 2592/H.R. 5167). Our legislation promotes proper nutrition by updating the 30 year-old nutrition standards for junk food sold and served in the nation’s public schools and has been endorsed by the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, and many other groups. For more information on the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, please see the press release below. In addition, it was my pleasure to address the Des Moines public meeting of the Citizen’s Health Care Working Group. More than 100 Iowans turned out to share their opinions on the nation’s health care system and possibilities for reform. For those of you unable to attend I have included the text of the remarks I made at the meeting. Thank you for your interest health care and the advocacy you provide for your interests. Tom Harkin
Harkin Pushes Bipartisan Measure to Improve Kids Health WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today was joined by a bipartisan coalition in introducing legislation to improve students’ eating habits and improve children’s overall health. The bipartisan Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act would update decades-old federal nutrition standards for snack foods sold in school cafeterias alongside the regular school meals, and would apply those standards everywhere on school grounds, including in vending machines and school stores. “Many American kids are at school for two meals a day. But instead of a nutritious school breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria, they are enticed to eat Cheetos and a Snickers Bar from the vending machines in the hallway,” said Harkin. “Junk food sales in schools are out of control. It undercuts our investment in school meal programs, and steers kids toward a future of obesity and diet-related disease. Congress cannot stand idly by while our kids are preyed upon by junk-food marketers.” Current federal regulations limiting the sale of junk food in schools are very narrow and have not been updated in almost 30 years, despite major changes in nutritional science and other advances during that time. What is more, though a narrow category of junk foods cannot be sold in certain areas of schools, even the prohibited junk foods can be sold anywhere else on-campus -- including just outside the cafeteria -- at any time. As a result, junk food is for sale in nearly every single school in America. According to Government Accountability Office (GAO), 99 percent of high schools, 97 percent of middle schools, and 83 percent of elementary schools have vending machines, school stores, or snack bars. The most common items sold out of school vending machines, school stores, and snack bars include soda and sports drinks, salty snacks, candy, and high-fat baked goods. The Harkin proposal would address both problems by requiring updated nutritional standards for all foods sold at school, and would apply those standards to all foods sold during the school day everywhere on schools grounds. “USDA hasn’t updated their nutritional standards in thirty years. Since that time, we’ve learned a lot from the scientific community about the risks that a poor diet has down the line for children and adolescents,” said Harkin. “Today, for the first time ever, bipartisan legislation will be introduced in both chambers of Congress to address this problem -- and to do what is right for the health of our kids.” Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Lincoln Chaffee (R-RI) cosponsored the Senate measure. Identical legislation was introduced today by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Chris Shays (R-CT) in the House of Representatives. The legislation has also been endorsed by the American Medical Association (AMA), the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and other children’s health advocacy organizations. Harkin has been the Senate leader in federal efforts to combat the obesity epidemic by promoting wellness and healthy habits among adults and children. Harkin is the author of the Harkin Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program which provides free, fresh fruits and vegetables to children in schools. He is also the sponsor of the 2005 Healthy Lifestyles and Prevention (HeLP) America Act which focuses on prevention and wellness to confront our nation’s rise in chronic disease. Senator Harkin’s prepared remarks for the April 8 meeting of the Citizen Health Care Working Group Thank you, Jonathan for that introduction. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you briefly today before discussion begins. You should know that there are some others who are not here today that should be recognized. Senators Wyden and Hatch added the authorization for the Citizens Health Care Working Group to the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. I was pleased to work with them over the past two years to obtain funding for this project. I want to thank you for being here. All of you who are here are participating in something that makes us American: the democratic process. Here, you are openly discussing the future of our health care system in the United States. You are engaging in an essential element of citizenship. What you discuss today will become part of a report to Congress that will be considered in Committee hearings across Capitol Hill and hopefully will spur major change in our health care system. So, thank you for caring enough about the future of our country to be here on Saturday morning. Your participation will prove something else too: not all good ideas are dreamed up in Washington. Your ideas are important and essential to solving the health care crisis in America. I want to listen to your ideas. I want to hear your thoughts. I have concerns about our health care system: 45 million uninsured. The newspapers are full of stories about skyrocketing health care costs including insurance rates. Obesity rates and diet-related chronic diseases are out-of-control. Medicare and Medicaid costs are going up, and on and on. As I’ve thought about these things, I realized something. In America today we don’t have a health care system, we have a sick care system. We wait until people become obese, develop chronic diseases, or become disabled – and then we spend untold hundreds of billions annually to try to make them better. In America, we need to fundamentally redirect our focus toward caring for the health of our society as a whole. I believe that part of our discussion should focus on how we build a system that creates incentives for wellness, disease prevention, exercise, good nutrition, and staying out of the hospital in the first place. Only then can we reduce the costs of health care. Part of the answer requires us to extend quality health care coverage to all Americans. Only then can people go to their doctor and get vital preventive services, screenings, and still have the security of knowing they are protected if they do get sick. One idea I support is to extend the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan along with a tax credit to the uninsured. This is the same quality insurance Members of Congress and federal employees buy into. I thank you for letting me be here today, and I thank you for your participation. I am looking forward to the discussions. Senators Harkin, Domenici, Kennedy, and Smith announce the Senate Caucus on Mental Health Reform WASHINGTON DC – U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Pete V. Domenici (R-NM), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) today announced the establishment of a Senate Caucus on Mental Health Reform. The Caucus, intended to increase awareness of mental health issues in the Senate, was announced as part of a meeting of former members of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The reconvening is being sponsored by the Campaign for Mental Health Reform, a coalition of 16 national mental health organizations. “I want to use this new forum to increase the knowledge and understanding among Senators of the importance of making mental health a national priority. As we move beyond the stigma of mental illnesses, early access, recovery and quality in mental health services must become the hallmarks of our nation’s mental health system,” Domenici said. Senator Kennedy said, “the Senate Mental Health Caucus will work in a bipartisan way to educate the Congress on the importance of addressing mental health as a national priority. No one is exempt from the human toll of mental illness, and it is time to end the discrimination and stigma that millions of Americans face each day. In particular, Senator Smith noted that one example of the Caucus’ efforts will be to “help those of us who care deeply about mental health to educate our colleagues about the devastating impact of mental illness and the vital importance of access to mental health coverage for all Americans.” Senator Harkin noted the “importance of raising awareness in order to end discrimination against millions of Americans with mental health disabilities and the significance of prevention and early intervention during childhood, before there are consequences in terms of disrupted lives and disability.” In July 2003, the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health released its groundbreaking report entitled “Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America.” The Commission found the U.S. mental health system “fragmented and in disarray, lead[ing] to unnecessary and costly disability, homelessness, school failure and incarceration.” The Commission called for a “fundamental transformation” of the mental health system in which: Americans understand that mental health is essential to overall health; mental health is consumer and family driven; disparities in mental health services are eliminated; early mental health screening, assessment, and referral to services are common practice; excellent mental health care is delivered and research is accelerated; and technology is used to access mental health care and information.
Yet, in the first two years following release of the Commission’s report:
In all, more than 20 million adults and children have mental illnesses. But tragically, one out of two does not receive treatment due to lack of access to effective mental health services, as well as the lingering stigma associated with mental illness. People can and do recover from serious mental illnesses when they receive appropriate treatment. The key is to make access to effective treatment and recovery national priorities. The 16 organizations that comprise the Campaign for Mental Health Reform joined together in 2003 to educate policymakers, the public and the media about the vital goals established by the New Freedom Commission. The Campaign’s members are: American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, CHADD – Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health (FFCMH), Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHD), National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH), National Empowerment Center (NEC), National Mental Health Association (NMHA), National Mental Health Consumers Self-Help Clearinghouse, Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA), and United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (USPRA). Questions about the Campaign can be directed to Charles Konigsberg, Executive Director, at 202-587-2984. Journal of American Medicine Association releases new report on obesity in the United States Just last week, the Journal of American Medicine Association announced new data on the percentages of overweight and obese children and adults in 2004. Some media outlets have focused on the findings that the percentages of women who qualify as overweight and obese leveled off between 1999 and 2004. While this is certainly good news, the much bigger and more serious news are alarming increases among just about every other population group. Particularly troubling were rapid increases among children and youth over the past five years. For me, these findings illustrate not that we are making progress in fighting overweight and diet-related chronic disease, but that our task remains urgent. We have much left to accomplish in promoting healthy behaviors and improving our public health. Indeed, we have barely begun to take the steps necessary to build health and wellness into all sectors of our society. Recent survey illustrates the value of workplace wellness programs to workers’ health I have long supported efforts by business to institute wellness programs and incentives for their employees and I was heartened to see the results of a recent survey that shows many companies are realizing the value of these programs to their employees and to the bottom line. A recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that 18% of senior executives at multinational companies said their employees’ health status improved over the past two years. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed said their company offered programs or incentives for improving employee health that they believe the design of their company’s benefit plan has influenced the health of their employees. Finally, the overwhelming majority of those surveyed said cost was a top priority in the design of their company’s health plan. HARKIN PRAISES COMMITTEE PASSAGE OF PROPOSAL TO INCREASE RESOURCES FOR AVIAN FLU PREPAREDNESS HARKIN PRAISES BIPARTISAN SENATE ACTION TO RESTORE HEALTH AND EDUCATION INITIATIVES SMART CHOICES, HEALTHY LIVES Recent News You May Have Missed Des Moines Register coverage of the Citizen’s Health Care Working Group On March 31, I participated in a panel discussion sponsored by CNN’s Fit Nation and moderated by Dr. Sanjay Gupta The Politics of Fat We hope you enjoyed Senator Harkin’s Health and Wellness Update! In order to better serve your needs and keep you informed, we created this newsletter to share with you the latest legislative news in education. More importantly, we want to hear from you. Again, we hope you find this information helpful. Please keep in touch and let us know what is going on back in Iowa. ~ The Harkin Health Team If you do not wish to receive this update in the future, please respond to this e-mail and let us know. Likewise, please feel free to forward this update to whomever you think would be interested in the information. If this update was sent to you by a friend or colleague and you wish to be on the mailing list or you would like to subscribe to newsletters on other issues click here. |
