DeLauro Announces New Bill to Increase Funding for Lead Testing and Treatment
New Haven, CT (July 17, 2017) – This morning, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, CT-03, visited the New Haven Health Department to announce the introduction of the SMART Child Act. The SMART Child Act, which stands for Screen, Manage, Address, and Remove Toxins for Children Act, reauthorizes the Public Health Service Act to increase funding the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Lead Poisoning Prevention Program which would provide additional resources to states to screen for elevated blood lead levels, refer for treatment of such levels; and refer for environmental intervention associated with such levels.
Last year's Flint Water Crisis led to a national conversation on how we can protect children from lead poisoning. According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, as of 2015, 2,515 Connecticut children had lead poisoning, with approximately 1,670 new cases identified. The SMART Child Act would authorize $150 million to identify children with lead poisoning and connect them with services.
In Connecticut, the most prevalent way in which families are exposed to lead poisoning is from lead-based paint in their homes. Homes built before 1950 are especially at risk, which includes 30 percent of Connecticut housing stock, compared to just 19 percent nationally. Lead-based paints were banned for use in housing in 1978, however, houses built before 1978 are likely to contain some lead-based paint. In New Haven, 83 percent of homes were built before 1978. When children touch lead paint chips or ingest lead dust, they are at a high risk of lead poisoning.
"There is no "healthy" level of lead for the human body. We cannot kick the can down the road and hope the problem goes away. It will not. We must be proactive, and do everything we can to keep children and families safe." said DeLauro. "Keeping families and children safe from lead exposure is a top priority for me. When the CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program was cut from $35 million to just $2 million in 2012, I fought to have it restored. In 2016, the program received $17 million, but we need to expand the funding for this program."
With the limited resources that the agency currently receives, the CDC collects test results, provides surveillance data, and monitors trends — which in turn help state and local health departments, community organizations, and social services organizations to identify children at risk of lead poisoning. The CDC does not currently provide funding to pay for testing blood lead levels.
State and local health departments currently use this funding to implement primary prevention interventions, including housing rehabilitation, housing and health code enforcement, and engagement with clinical care. The CDC also provides technical assistance to state and local agencies regarding lead poisoning prevention; provides epidemiological and laboratory expertise; and monitors trends in childhood blood lead levels.
The SMART Child act has been endorsed by the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, Ounce of Prevention, and United Parents Against Lead. It currently has 18 cosponsors.
DeLauro was joined by Dr. Raul Pino, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health; Dr. Byron Kennedy, Director of the New Haven Health Department; and Dr. Carl Baum, Director of the Yale Regional Lead Treatment Center.
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