Cliff Stearns: “on March 6, 1997, the FDA issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, which set forth its plan to ban…”

“on March 6, 1997, the FDA issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, which set forth its plan to ban CFC-containing metered-dose inhalers once certain criteria are met. The plan was developed in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency and is intended to eliminate the minuscule amount of CFC's currently allowed to be used for medication delivered by metered-dose inhalers. CFC is the abbreviated term used to refer to chlorofluorocarbon gas. There are tens of millions of Americans who suffer from asthma; 5 million of those are children. These patients depend upon CFC-propelled metered-dose inhalers to treat their asthma and to help them breathe. With over 5,000 deaths each year in America due to asthma, I am convinced that the FDA's rule would eliminate treatment options for asthmatic patients. Today, I want to talk about H.R. 2221, legislation that I, along with my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], introduced on July 22 of this year.”