Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is Asthma Awareness Day. I rise to celebrate the October 2003 enacted Asthmatic Students Treatment and Health Management Act, ASTHMA. It is now Public Law 108-377 and was H.R.…
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is Asthma Awareness Day. I rise to celebrate the October 2003 enacted Asthmatic Students Treatment and Health Management Act, ASTHMA. It is now Public Law 108-377 and was H.R. 2023 in the House and the Senate bill was S. 2815. I introduced this with the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy), and Senator Enzi and Senator Kennedy carried the mantle there.
Mr. Speaker, this law provides incentives for States to pass favorable laws that guarantee that students can carry and use prescribed medicine and anaphylaxis medications while in school. It is not a mandate, and incurs no new spending. The idea has been germinating since the early 1990s and has been building momentum since.
On Asthma Awareness Day, May 7, 2003, there were only 20 asthma- friendly States in our United States. Even more limiting, of these 20, only nine extended that protection even further to anaphylaxis medication like epinephrine auto-injectors. Today, according to the Allergy and Asthma Network, Mothers of Asthmatics, we have a strong number of 41 States protecting for asthma, 26 for asthma plus anaphylaxis, and four have legislation pending for both conditions. Four that have asthma laws have legislation pending for anaphylaxis, and there is one State just getting started and has legislation that is pending for asthma anaphylaxis-carrying students.
Mr. Speaker, this is a dramatic upswing for our children. I am especially proud to report what is going on in Florida. Florida has been an inhaler-friendly State for years, but now there is legislation pending to include epinephrine auto-injectors.
My friend and constituent, Dr. Karl Altenberger, an allergist in Ocala, Florida, has been active in advancing this for his patients in the Florida State legislature. He is to be commended. This bill passed last week and is ready for the Governor's signature.
Just yesterday, the Orlando Sentinel reported ``Girl fights for allergy law as lives depend on it.'' In Celebration, a central Florida town, lives 9-year-old Kelsey Ryan. ``Severely allergic to peanuts, she has never known life without her EpiPen. The dose of adrenaline inside could save her life and is with her at all times: in classrooms, on field trips, and during school activities. Now Kelsey has been urging Tallahassee lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow the estimated 100,000 Florida school children with life-threatening allergies the same access to this EpiPen.
Kelsey has testified before four Tallahassee committees since February, meeting lawmakers and passing out practice injectors urging them to pass the bill. We might call Kelsey a true respiration inspiration. She shares a quote, ``My mom told me in some schools, there are children like myself who need the EpiPen with them, but it is locked far away in the clinic.'' She told the committee that if someone needed their EpiPen, it might not get to them in time.
Kelsey's charisma and dedication led legislators in Tallahassee to rename H.B. 279 the Kelsey Ryan Act. More than 60 State legislators cosponsored the bill which the House passed earlier this month 114 to 0. The Senate passed it last week, and it is on the desk of Governor Jeb Bush.
Brenda Olson, director of governmental affairs for the American Lung Association of Florida points out that ``most schools in Florida do not allow students to carry the EpiPen.'' As we have been saying for years, ``Moments count when these reactions start.''
Kelsey's mother, Blair Ryan, emphasized another point we made in our bill, H.R. 2023, that this is a team effort between the student, the parents, the physician, and the school. If a parent and physician believe that a student is mature and competent to treat him or herself, a school should not impede this medical regimen, but help it work for the student.
Currently, school districts across Florida have different policies on this matter, and some may well not serve a student who just accidentally got stung by a bee or ate a cookie with an unknown walnut. Officials in Volusia and Orange counties said the majority of EpiPen are kept locked in school clinics. This is disastrous for the student's health and potentially a lawsuit on the school.
In conclusion, I am pleased with the strong progress on this issue here in our Nation's Capitol and in the State houses. I invite everyone to join us in the Cannon Caucus Room tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. for a congressional briefing followed by free asthma screenings and asthma health clinics and exhibits from 1 to 3:30 p.m. This year, Asthma Awareness Day is truly a breath of fresh air.
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, is Asthma Awareness Day and I rise to celebrate the October 2003-enacted Asthmatic Students Treatment and Health Management Act (ASTHMA). What is now P.l. 108-377, and was H.R. 2023 in the House and S. 2815 in the Senate, I had introduced on 2003's Asthma Awareness Day with my friend Representative Patrick Kennedy from Rhode Island. In the Senate, Senator Enzi and Senator Kennedy carried the mantel.
This law provides incentives for States to pass favorable laws guaranteeing that students can carry and use prescribed asthma and anaphylaxis (anna full AXE iss) medications while at school. It is not a mandate, and it incurs no new spending. This idea has been germinating since the late 1990s, and has been building momentum since. On Asthma Awareness Day, May 7, 2003, there were only 20 ``asthma- friendly'' States. Even more limiting, of these 20 only 9 extended that protection even further to anaphylaxis (anna full AXE
iss) medication, like epinephrine auto-injectors. Today, according to the Allergy and Asthma Network, Mothers of Asthmatics, a grand-slam of 41 States protect for asthma, 26 for asthma plus anaphylaxis, 4 have legislation pending for both conditions, 4 that already have asthma laws have legislation pending for anaphylaxis, and 1 State is just getting started and has legislation pending for asthma. This is a dramatic upswing for our children.
I am especially proud to report what is going on in Florida. Florida has been inhaler-friendly for years, but now there is legislation pending to include epinephrine auto-injectors. My friend and constituent Karl Altenberger, MD, an allergist in Ocala, FL has been active on advancing this for his patients for years in the Florida State legislature. The bill passed last week and is ready for the Governor.
Just yesterday (May 2nd), the Orlando Sentinel reported that ``Girl fights for allergy law as if lives depend on it.'' In Celebration, a central Florida town, lives 9-year-old Kelsey Ryan. ``Severely allergic to peanuts, (she) has never known life without her EpiPen. The dose of adrenaline inside could save her life and is with her at all times: in her classroom, on field trips and during after-school activities.
Now Kelsey has been urging Tallahassee lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow the estimated 100,000 Florida schoolchildren with life- threatening allergies the same access to their EpiPens--also known as epinephrine auto-injectors.
Kelsey has testified before four Tallahassee committees since February, meeting lawmakers and passing out practice injectors with tags urging them to pass the bill.'' We might call Kelsey a true respiration inspiration. She shares that ``My mom told me that in some other schools there's children like myself who need their EpiPen with them, but it's locked up far away in the clinic,'' Kelsey told one committee. ``If they somehow needed their EpiPen, it might not get to them in time.''
Kelsey's ``charisma and dedication led legislators in Tallahassee to rename H.B. 279 the ``Kelsey Ryan Act.'' More than 60 State representatives co-sponsored the bill, which the House passed earlier this month 114-0. The Senate passed it last week and it is on the desk of Governor Jeb Bush.
Brenda Olsen, director of governmental affairs for the American Lung Association of Florida, points out that ``Most schools in the State of Florida do not allow students to carry their EpiPens,'' and, as we have been saying for years, ``Moments count when these reactions start.''
Kelsey's mother, Blair Ryan, emphasizes another point we made in H.R. 2003: This is a ``team effort'' between the student, the parents, the physician, and the school. If a parent and physician believe that a student is mature and competent to treat him or herself, a school should not impede this medical regimen, but help it work for the student. Currently, school districts across Florida vary on their policies, and some may not well-serve a student who just accidentally got stung by a bee, or ate a cookie with an unknown walnut. In the Sentinel article, officials in Volusia and Orange counties said the majority of EpiPens are kept locked in school clinics. This could prove to be just disastrous, for the student's health, and potentially as a lawsuit to the school.
I am pleased with the strong momentous progress of this issue here in our Nation's capital and in our statehouses. I invite everyone to join us in the Cannon Caucus room tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. for a Congressional Briefing, followed by free asthma screenings and asthma health exhibits from 1-2:30 p.m. This year's Asthma Awareness Day is truly a breath of fresh air.
