Elizabeth Furse: “I rise today to bring attention to a resolution I have introduced, House Concurrent Resolution 223. It addresses a…”

“I rise today to bring attention to a resolution I have introduced, House Concurrent Resolution 223. It addresses a serious health care problem which affects millions of Americans, and that problem is diabetes. It is a debilitating disease. It affects more than 14 million citizens in our Nation. I would recommend that every Member of this House get a copy of a new publication called ``Reducing the Burden of Diabetes'' which the American Diabetes Association has produced. It outlines the scope of the disease in every State in our Nation, and the numbers are truly staggering. Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death by disease in the United States, taking the lives of more than 160,000 people annually, and it should be noted it affects in greater numbers the elderly, native American, Hispanic, and African-American communities. In sum, it costs nearly $92 billion annually to fight this disease. One way the impact of diabetes-related complications can be diminished is through the stabilization of blood glucose levels, and in order to accomplish this stabilization and prevent complications, people with insulin-treated diabetes require four or more injections of insulin every day as well as frequent testing of blood-sugar levels.”