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Read. Follow. Verify.Senate Resolution Supporting Thalidomide Survivors
Last action · May 23, 2024: Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text: CR S3893-3894)Sponsor: John Kennedy
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What This Bill Would Do
This formally recognizes individuals born with disabilities caused by the drug thalidomide in the late 1950s. It acknowledges the ongoing financial and physical hardships faced by survivors and urges national recognition of their experiences.
The establishes official federal recognition for thalidomide survivors, which serves as a formal acknowledgment of their medical history and the long-term financial burdens associated with their disabilities.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Thalidomide survivors
The resolution formally recognizes their medical history and the hardships associated with their disabilities.
Key Facts
- The Senate formally recognizes and supports individuals born with congenital disabilities due to thalidomide exposure.
- The resolution designates July 14, 2024, as National Thalidomide Survivor Awareness Day.
- Thalidomide was a sedative used in the late 1950s to treat nausea in pregnant women, resulting in widespread congenital disabilities and stillbirths.
- Estimated global impact includes 8,000 to 10,000 children affected by thalidomide exposure.
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- At least 20 thalidomide survivors are estimated to reside in Louisiana.
- Survivors face ongoing financial burdens due to the need for adaptive technologies like prosthetic limbs and electronic wheelchairs.
- Many survivors are unable to maintain full-time employment due to their impairments.
- The resolution states that thalidomide survivors have not previously received formal recognition or support from the Federal Government.
- The Senate urges the inclusion of thalidomide exposure in United States history and the acknowledgment of the long-term hardships faced by survivors.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Federal Recognition Gap
The resolution explicitly notes that thalidomide survivors have not previously received recognition or support from the Federal Government, highlighting a long-standing gap in federal policy.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance30How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy5Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz10Current news / social attention level
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