12-R376

2012 -- H 8148

Enacted 06/05/12

H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA TO RESTORE FUNDING FOR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL'S HEALTHY HOMES AND LEAD POISONING PREVENTION PROGRAM

Introduced By: Representative Arthur Handy

Date Introduced: May 09, 2012

     WHEREAS, In the FY12 budget recently approved by Congress, the Centers for Disease

Control’s (CDC) Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program suffered a devastating

94 percent cut. Without immediate intervention to reallocate the funding necessary to save this

program, nearly half a million children nationwide may fail to receive the critical preventative

services they need in the coming weeks and months; and

WHEREAS, Lead poisoning is a reality for too many children in Rhode Island. In 2011,

two hundred children were newly diagnosed with lead poisoning in the Ocean State; and

     WHEREAS, The annual incidence rate of lead poisoning in Rhode Island has declined

significantly over the past decade from 5.8 percent of children screened in 2001, to just 0.8

percent of children screened in 2011. This significant progress testifies to the effectiveness of

Rhode Island’s response to lead poisoning and provides evidence that supports continued funding

for a program that works. Rhode Island needs to continue to focus on primary prevention and

lead-safe housing to protect children from lead poisoning and respond to lower blood lead levels;

and

     WHEREAS, If, as expected, the Centers for Disease Control lowers the threshold for

childhood lead poisoning from the current rate of 10 mcg/dL to 5 mcg/dL, the number of new

cases of lead poisoning in Rhode Island in 2011 would increase from 200 to 1,279; and

     WHEREAS, In the fight against lead poisoning, the Centers for Disease Control’s

Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is on the front line. CDC-funded health

officials in thirty-five states around the country get the call when kids in their communities are

lead poisoned and make sure these children receive immediate help; and

     WHEREAS, Studies show that serious poisoning cases have been under-counted.

Funding for intervention should increase, not disappear; and

     WHEREAS, This is a critical opportunity to take a stand on two major issues confronting

policy-makers: environmental justice and education. Low-income families and children of color

continue to suffer a disproportionate impact from lead poisoning. In some areas of the country,

African-American and Latino children are eight to nine times more likely to enter school with a

history of lead poisoning; and

      WHEREAS, Studies show that educating a child with lead poisoning costs an extra

$38,000, on average. Additionally, children poisoned by lead are seven times more likely to drop

out of school and six times more likely to end up in the juvenile justice system. If even half of the

children with lead poisoning access the educational services they need and deserve, tax payers

would save $10 billion; now, therefore be it

      RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby urges President Barack Obama to restore funding to the CDC’s

Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. The stakes are simply too high for

Rhode Island’s children; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to President Barack Obama, the United States

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and the Rhode Island

Congressional Delegation.

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LC02584

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