mr. speaker , this rule , house resolution 494 , will allow the house to take up a bill limiting civil liability for the food and restaurant industry from obesity lawsuits . 
we have already debated this legislation once . 
we now have precious few legislative days left on the calendar and an ever-expanding list of legislative priorities , yet the majority leadership has decided to take up a bill that preempts a handful of obesity lawsuits that are already being effectively handled in the courts . 
given that , is this really the most pressing issue facing the american people ? 
the courts are working fine . 
this bill is simply unnecessary . 
here is just a short list of issues we might be addressing today : the debt , the trade deficit , iraq , housing for katrina victims , the bird flu , port security , border security , nuclear plant security , and energy independence . 
i am sure the american people would appreciate a debate on any of those issues over what we are doing today . 
in touting the merits of h.r. 554 , my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have cited the need for american people to take responsibility for what they eat and how they live . 
i very much agree . 
however , i would respectfully submit that maybe it is also time that congress starts taking some responsibility for the challenges facing the american people . 
the disconnect between the content of this legislation and the concerns of our constituents would be humorous if it were not so disturbing . 
mr. speaker , obesity is one of the great health epidemics in the united states , and as today 's debate will show , it continues to go ignored . 
if you talk to any health professional in the country , whether it be the director of the national institutes of health or a nurse at a local clinic , they will tell you that our health care system is on an unsustainable path , especially when it comes to obesity . 
obesity is the number one preventable cause of death in america . 
according to the rand corporation , obesity will account for 20 percent of all health care costs by 2020 if we do not change course . 
this challenge demands responsible , forward-looking leadership . 
as members of congress , we need to take personal responsibility for the trajectory of the health care system in the united states . 
it would be cheaper to prevent this train wreck now than to wait for obesity to overwhelm the capacity of our health care system . 
our citizens are hungry for leadership , and they are not getting any . 
the obesity epidemic in the united states should spur this congress into action . 
since 1980 , childhood obesity rates have more than doubled among preschoolers and adolescents . 
obesity among children ages 6 to 11 has more than tripled . 
overweight children have a 70 percent chance of being overweight as adults , facing higher risks for many diseases , such as heart disease , cancer , stroke , and diabetes . 
i recently visited a dialysis center in my hometown of sacramento , california , earlier this year . 
many patients there had diabetes . 
mr. speaker , diabetes is a terrible disease . 
in its late stages it limits terribly one 's quality of life . 
we need to be doing more to prevent it . 
we just do not need another cheeseburger bill . 
what we need is a debate about health care , about prevention , and about our priorities . 
two-thirds of all americans are obese . 
according to the centers for disease control , health care costs related to obesity are costing us more than $ 117 billion annually and much more in damage to our citizens ' quality of life . 
we should not accept this fate for so many of our nation 's children . 
dealing with obesity by talking about tort reform does just that , it says that congress is more concerned about the industry than it is about the long-term health of our nation and of our children . 
no serious policymaker believes that we can turn this tide with a few half-hearted calls for americans to exercise more . 
this is going to take real leadership , real investment . 
it will take a relentless campaign to educate our citizens , along with public pressure to recognize the importance of this issue . 
it will mean taking a hard look at whether our public schools are up to the test in terms of offering nutritious meals and physical education classes for everyone . 
it means asking whether industry advertisers are targeting children and , if so , setting strict marketing guidelines . 
in the short-term , the easy path is to dodge this whole debate , to pass this tort reform measure and walk away from the discussion . 
the harder path and the more responsible one would be to deal with the crisis that is here today and the even bigger crisis we all know is coming . 
i for one am ready for that discussion . 
i hope my colleagues are . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
