Political Quotes

“Our Nation currently spends 75 cents of every $1 on health care for the treatment of preventable conditions. These diseases can be stopped and prevented in people through simple, commonsense measures. Yet a meager 3 cents of every $1 goes toward those treatments, therapies, and practices that can help prevent the diseases that are so wasteful to our economy, to individuals, and their livelihoods. Our young people are on track to be the first generation of Americans to live a shorter, unhealthier life than their parents. The responsibility to change the course of this history is in our hands. One step this body--led by Senator Harkin--has taken is to establish the Prevention and Public Health Fund. It is the only dedicated Federal fund for the prevention and improvement of our Nation's public health. Prevention is the most effective way to improve the health of Americans while reducing health care costs in the United States. This funding supports efforts to reduce our Nation's rate of infant death, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and tobacco use. They are the killers and they kill unnecessarily and avoidably. Sadly, many Connecticut residents suffer from those very same chronic diseases I mentioned. Thirty percent of Connecticut residents have high blood pressure, 9 percent have diabetes, 21,000 residents of Connecticut are diagnosed with cancer annually, and 16 percent still use tobacco.…”