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MURKOWSKI, JOHNSON, COLEMAN, DODD, MURRAY AND DURBIN CO-SPONSOR BILL TO PREVENT NATION’S LEADING CAUSE OF MENTAL RETARDATION AND AID FAMILIES IN NEED
Washington D.C.- September 21, 2005. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) along with Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) re-introduced the ‘Advancing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Research, Prevention, and Services Act’ on Monday, September 19, 2005. This bill was originally introduced by Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in the 108th Congress. Original co-sponsors are Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN).
 
Senators Lisa Murkowski and Tim Johnson
NOFAS Vice President and National Spokesperson Kathy Mitchell, a parent of an adult child with FAS remarked, “Every parent, family member and caregiver touched by FASD—our Circle of Hope—is so grateful to Senators Lisa Murkowski and Tim Johnson, and we’re proud and fortunate to have them advocating for the issue.”
The bill is the most important legislation on FASD to come before Congress in the past five years. It includes critical provisions on FASD prevention, identification, treatment and care that have been crafted with the participation of major national, state and community-based FASD organizations as well as all relevant federal agencies. It enhances the attention to FASD among the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute on Mental Health and other agencies, and for the first time engages the Departments of Education and Justice in the federal response to alcohol-related birth defects.
In addition to furthering the clinical research to better understand alcohol’s effect on functional development, the legislation emphasizes the identification of individuals with FASD, the vital first step toward treating the disorder. Experts estimate that 13 percent of women continue to drink through their pregnancies, contributing to the birth of more than 25,000 infants annually with FASD. Although FASD is completely preventable when pregnant women abstain from alcohol, prenatal alcohol exposure remains the leading known cause of mental retardation. The lifetime cost of treating a child with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), the most serious outcome of prenatal alcohol consumption, is an estimated $860,000, totaling about $5.4 billion annually. These costs accumulate because of the high need for special education, rehabilitation and even incarceration.
Senator Murkowski has worked relentlessly to gain bipartisan support for the bill in the Senate and has become the leading advocate for those with FASD in her home state of Alaska and throughout the country. She stated, “It is vitally important for all women to know that Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are the number one preventable cause of mental retardation and birth defects. Children do not ‘outgrow’ fetal alcohol disorders. The physical and behavioral problems can last for a lifetime.”
Senator Johnson has been successfully continuing the work of Tom Daschle concerning FASD and alcohol-related issues. He is a co-sponsor of S. Res. 141, designating September 9, 2005 as “National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day”. Through his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Johnson helped secure $300,000 in funding in fiscal year 2005 and $200,000 in fiscal year 2004 for the Western South Dakota Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome at Black Hills State University.
NOFAS President Tom Donaldson added, “The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) and its affiliates across the country have worked very hard to bring FASD to the forefront of health legislation. The re-introduction of the ‘Advancing FASD Research, Prevention, and Services Act’ is a success for all those who have made tireless efforts in informing lawmakers about FASD.”
To view the press release from Senator Murkowski's Office, please click here: Senator Murkowski introduces vital FASD legislation. To view Senator Johnson's Press Release, please click here: Senator Johnson moves to prevent FASD.
For details and bill text, please search for S. 1722 (Advancing FASD Research, Prevention, and Services Act) at: http://thomas.loc.gov
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