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News from
Rep. Stephanie Herseth
HERSETH WORKS TO BUILD SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL CHILDREN’S STUDY SDSU One of Seven NCS Vanguard Centers January 23, 2007, Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth last week led a bipartisan group of more than 40 House members in writing to President Bush and the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging support for the National Children’s Study (NCS), the largest long-term study of children’s health and development ever initiated in the United States. South Dakota State University in Brookings is one of seven NCS Vanguard Centers around the country. Sufficient federal funding for the NCS in Fiscal Year 2007 would help provide SDSU and the other Vanguard Centers with the funding and resources needed to begin a crucial next step, which is the recruitment of participants. Herseth said, “The research that will take place at NCS Vanguard Centers like that at SDSU promises to help prevent and treat disease for generations to come. However, this life-saving research initiative is in jeopardy without adequate funding in this fiscal year.” By tracking 100,000 children to age 21, the NCS will explore the major causes of childhood illnesses such as premature birth, asthma, obesity, preventable injury, autism, development delay, mental illness, and learning disorders. The NCS was developed and is being overseen by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). A total of 105 study sites are planned throughout the United States. In coming weeks, President Bush will present his Fiscal Year 2008 budget request, and the House and Senate are expected to approve a Continuing Resolution for the uncompleted Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations bills. President Bush’s FY07 budget called for the cessation of funding for the NCS, despite the fact that Congress has committed more than $50 million to the program since it was first authorized in 2000. These funds have been utilized in planning the study and preparing to enroll patients. NICHD requires $69 million in FY07 to begin enrolling patients, as well as future funding necessary to carry the study to completion. # # # Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth serves South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats committed to fiscal discipline and strong national security, and is co-chair of the Rural Working Group, which is dedicated to raising the profile of issues important to rural America. She also serves on three committees vital to South Dakota’s interests: Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs and Resources.
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