Congratulating the American Dental Association for sponsoring the second annual "Give Kids a Smile" program which emphasizes the need to improve access to dental care for children, and thanking dentists for volunteering their time to help provide needed dental care.

Mr. Speaker, while I support the goals of the ``Give Kids a Smile'' program, and I commend the American Dental Association for establishing and continuing its sponsorship of the ``Give Kids a Smile'' program, and thank the thousands of dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and others who volunteered their time to this program, I remain deeply concerned about the dental profession's continued reliance on mercury-containing dental amalgams.

The amalgam fillings the American Dental Association so wrongly calls ``silver'' are mainly mercury, not silver at all. Mercury is the single largest ingredient in each filling, representing about 45 to 50 percent of the mercury by weight, or about one-half a gram per filling. That is a colossal amount of mercury in scientific terms--as much as is in an old fashioned thermometer. For example, a young child with six amalgam fillings has the equivalent of six mercury thermometers worth of mercury in their mouth.

No one has ever identified a positive health benefit to mercury in the human body. Thus, it was sound public health policy to eliminate mercury from thermometers, blood pressure gauges, light switches, cosmetics, teething powder, horse liniment, hat-making materials, smokestack emission, and mining operations. In fact, virtually ever industry has either reduced or banned the use of mercury, with the exception of dentistry.

I have repeatedly called upon the dental establishment to ban the use of this highly toxic substance but regrettably, the dental establishment continues to hold to the scientific fiction that a material that is hazardous before it goes into the mouth, and hazardous after it comes back out of the mouth, is somehow perfectly safe while contained in the mouth, and they have repeatedly attempted to block every effort to ban mercury-amalgams.

According to the resolution, one of the underlying reasons behind the ``Give Kids a Smile'' program is that access to dental care for children is a vital element of overall health care and development. Yet, the developing neurological systems of fetuses and young children are especially susceptible to damage by even the slightest trace amounts of mercury. And an increasing body of scientific evidence points to mercury toxicity as a source of neurological problems including, but not limited to, modest declines in intelligence quotient (IQ), tremors, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Alzheimer's disease and autism.

I hope that one day soon, the American Dental Association will truly live up to the promise and intent of the ``Give Kids a Smile'' program and stop using mercury-based amalgam fillings for good.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 567) congratulating the American Dental Association for sponsoring the second annual ``Give Kids a Smile'' program which emphasizes the need to improve access to dental care for children, and thanking dentists for volunteering their time to help provided needed dental care.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 567, introduced by the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor). The resolution congratulates the American Dental Association for establishing the ``Give Kids a Smile'' program and thanks the thousands of dentists who volunteered their time to treat an estimated 1 million children on February 21 of last year, 2003.

Giving children access to dental care is crucial. Dental decay is one of the most common chronic infectious diseases among U.S. children. This preventable health problem begins early, and among low-income children, almost 50 percent of tooth decay remains untreated and may result in pain, dysfunction, underweight and poor appearance, problems that can greatly reduce a child's capacity to succeed in the educational environment.

The ``Give Kids a Smile'' program provides a much-needed service to our community by emphasizing the need to improve access to dental care for children. The program began in 2002 by a group of dentists in the Greater St. Louis Dental Society. Since then the program has grown, and in 2004 events took place at approximately 2,500 locations across the Nation, with about 36,000 dental team volunteers, including over 14,000 dentists, to provide free services to underserved children. The ADA has been crucial in implementing and expanding this program, and they deserve to be commended for their efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H. Res. 567 which congratulates the American Dental Association for once again successfully administering the Give Kids a Smile program.

The Give Kids a Smile program has worked hard to emphasize the importance of kids' access to high quality dental care. This year's program, held on February 6, 2004, resulted in an estimated one million children receiving dental education, screening and care.

The Give Kids a Smile program highlights not only the importance of children's dental care but also the need to help those that may not have access. Access to dental care for children is a critical component of overall health care. Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease and results in thousands of children experiencing poor eating and sleeping patterns and suffering decreased attention spans at school. Congress must join the American Dental Association in recognizing our role in providing assistance to children in need.

I want to thank the dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and others who volunteered their time during this year's Give Kids a Smile program. In addition to the success of this program, America's dental community deserves our thanks for the services and help they provide year round.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to participate in the following votes. If I had been present, I would have voted as follows:

September 30, 2004: Rollcall vote 485, on H. Con. Res. 501, honoring the life and work of Duke Ellington, recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and supporting the annual Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, I would have voted yes.

October 4, 2004: Rollcall vote 487, on S. Con. Res. 76, recognizing that November 2, 2003, shall be dedicated to ``A Tribute to Survivors'' at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, I would have voted yes. Rollcall vote 488, on S. 1814, to transfer federal lands between the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, I would have voted yes. Rollcall vote 489, on H. Res. 567, congratulating the American Dental Association for sponsoring the second annual ``Give Kids a Smile'' program which emphasizes the need to improve access to dental care for children, and thanking dentists for volunteering their time to help provide needed dental care, I would have voted yes.

October 5, 2004: Rollcall vote 490, on H. Res. 814, ordering the Previous Question, I would have voted yes. Rollcall vote 491, on H. Res. 814, adoption of the rule, I would have voted yes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution which congratulates the American Dental Association for sponsoring the ``Give Kids a Smile'' program.

I want to say that the participation of dentists in the second annual ``Give Kids a Smile'' program, which was established and sponsored by them, the American Dental Association, and held this year on February 6, 2004, serves as a reminder to people in the United States about the need to end untreated childhood dental disease and, in doing so, also prevent adult dental disease.

This activity was participated in by more than 37,000 volunteers, including more than 15,000 dentists who provided free education, screening and care services to an estimated 1 million children. We want to thank the American Dental Association for doing this and thank the National Dental Association for their support.

This bill was favorably reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce last week by a voice vote.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.