Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1003; a resolution entitled ``Expressing support for the designation of January 10, 2010, through January 16, 2010, as National Influenza Vaccination Week,'' and which also expresses the sentiments of the House of Representatives that preventing the spread of influenza and other infectious diseases should be a priority of all American citizens. It is important that we recognize the important role that immunizations have in protecting Americans from influenza outbreaks. Seasonal influenza causes more than 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths in the U.S. every year, and is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. It is important that we mitigate this great threat to our citizens and equip all Americans with the necessary preventative measures to effectively combat both the seasonal flu as well as the H1N1 Influenza strain. The flu can be very disruptive to business and trade as well. The economic and financial costs of seasonal influenza in the United States can be devastating due to employee absence from work, the high cost associated with medical care and the draw down in the financial activity of persons infected with the flu. In addition, lost earnings due to illness and loss of life amounted to over $15 billion annually and the total economic burden of annual influenza epidemics amounts to over $80 billion.…”