May 31, 2003 Senator Clinton Continues Her Commitment to Addressing New York City’s Childhood Asthma Epidemic Harlem, NY – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today joined Councilmember Phil Reed Councilmember Philip Reed, the New York City Department of Health and the East Harlem Asthma Working Group at the Third Annual East Harlem Asthma Symposium. Speaking before the conference, Senator Clinton reiterated her commitment to a five-point action agenda to address New York City's childhood asthma epidemic. Senator Clinton's asthma action plan builds on the work she has done to address environmental health hazards since coming to the Senate – fighting to identify and prevent cancer clusters, improving air quality at Ground Zero and establishing a nationwide health tracking network. New York City and Harlem have two of the highest childhood asthma rates in the country, and childhood asthma rates are growing nationwide. Senator Clinton has developed a five-point action agenda that will attack the childhood asthma epidemic from all sides, including improved research, disease surveillance, screening and treatment, as well as addressing asthma triggers in our children's environment, homes, and schools. Earlier this month, Senator Clinton joined Congressman Charles Rangel, Councilmember Phil Reed, Councilmember Bill Perkins and representatives from the medical community at North General Hospital to announce the multi-point plan. "Childhood asthma has become a health problem of epidemic proportions, and it is a problem that is growing. Research has shown that Harlem has a childhood asthma rate of 26%, meaning that one out of every four kids here has asthma, and that is unacceptable," Senator Clinton said. "The astronomically high childhood asthma rate we are seeing here in Harlem cannot be the result of one simple cause. These rates are so high because our kids are being hit from all sides – whether it is poor air quality, poor environmental conditions in their homes and schools, lack of disease detection, or inadequate treatment. So we need to hit back from all sides as well, and that is what my action agenda would do." "Children growing up here deserve better. It is time for the federal government to stand up and put a stop to the childhood asthma epidemic that is sweeping this country. How can a child learn in school or just be a kid if they are struggling simply to breathe?" Senator Clinton said. Senator Clinton's five-point action agenda for addressing childhood asthma includes: • Improving childhood asthma research by fully funding the Children's Environmental Health Research Centers. The federal government is currently funding twelve Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research, two of which are located in New York City at Columbia and Mt. Sinai. The Administration's FY04 budget proposes to cut funding for the Centers, and a recent request for proposals has indicated that funding will only be available for six of the eight centers whose five-year grants run out at the end of this fiscal year. Senator Clinton has written to EPA Administrator Whitman to urge against cutting the funding for the Children's Environmental Health Research Centers. • Increasing tracking of childhood asthma by establishing a Nationwide Health Tracking Network. While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is supporting asthma surveillance efforts in a number of states, there is still no comprehensive, nationwide tracking system in the U.S. for childhood asthma. Senator Clinton has requested $70 million for the next fiscal year for CDC's asthma tracking, education and treatment efforts, and also plans to reintroduce her Nationwide Health Tracking Act this summer. This legislation would establish a nationwide network to improve and integrate health and environmental data – including nationwide data on childhood asthma. • Giving kids cleaner air to breathe. Air pollution is scientifically proven to have negative health impacts on children. Studies show that children who live in polluted areas have a 10 percent lower lung function growth rate compared to those who live in less polluted areas. Senator Clinton is an original co-sponsor of the Clean Power Act, which would curb harmful pollution from our nation's power plants – the largest cause of the soot and smog that dirties our air and makes our children sick. In addition, Senator Clinton successfully secured $5 million this year for an EPA grant program to help school districts cleanup emissions from dirty diesel school buses. Last week, Senator Clinton announced plans to introduce new legislation authorizing significant federal assistance for the replacement and retrofitting of dirty school bus fleets across the country. • Improving the quality of children's indoor environments. There is also evidence that indoor factors such as mold and dust can trigger children's asthma in their homes and at school. Senator Clinton succeeded in adding the Healthy and High Performing Schools Initiative to the Leave No Child Behind Act to address unsatisfactory environmental conditions in our nation's schools. In addition, Senator Clinton will work to ensure that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Healthy Homes Initiative is a permanent tool in our nation's arsenal to battle childhood asthma and will work to provide more funding for the program. • Engaging schools and Head Start programs in the fight to prevent, screen and treat childhood asthma. Schools have a stake in making sure that asthma is not getting in the way of a child's ability to learn, and they have the ability to teach children the skills they need to manage the disease. Asthma is currently the leading cause of school absenteeism among New York City children. Senator Clinton plans to co-sponsor legislation that would authorize Head Start programs to screen for asthma, direct the federal Department of Health and Human Services to fund local agencies to screen for asthma in schools, and ensure that Medicaid and SCHIP cover asthma screening in schools.