Full Text of HJR0073 96th General Assembly
HJ0073 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, 2009 H1N1 Novel Pandemic influenza, the illness | 3 |
| commonly referred to as "Swine Flu", is a combination of human | 4 |
| and animal strains of the influenza virus; and
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| WHEREAS, The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus is a human influenza | 6 |
| virus that is spread from human to human; and
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| WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) | 8 |
| indicates that the 2009 H1N1 influenza currently circulating | 9 |
| among humans is a "novel" flu strain, with a genetic makeup | 10 |
| that is unique and has not been seen before in humans, birds, | 11 |
| or pigs; and
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| WHEREAS, Since last spring and the onset of the 2009 H1N1 | 13 |
| influenza outbreak in humans, the USDA has consistently asked | 14 |
| the media to stop calling this "novel" pandemic virus "swine | 15 |
| flu"; and
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| WHEREAS, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and | 17 |
| Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have | 18 |
| both pledged to cease using the term "Swine Flu"; and
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| WHEREAS, According to the CDC and the U.S. Department of | 20 |
| Homeland Security (DHS), human beings cannot contract H1N1 |
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| influenza from eating pork products; and
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| WHEREAS, Pork production is a major component of Illinois' | 3 |
| agriculture industry, with cash receipts from farm marketings | 4 |
| totaling approximately $800 million in 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois ranks fourth in the nation in the number | 6 |
| of hogs and pigs on farms; and
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| WHEREAS, U.S. hog farmers have lost almost $4.6 billion | 8 |
| since September 2007 as feed prices rose to a record high last | 9 |
| year and the recession and the H1N1 influenza outbreak curbed | 10 |
| pork demand in 2009; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, By continuing to mislabel the 2009 H1N1 influenza | 12 |
| virus that is affecting human populations around the world, the | 13 |
| media is causing undue and undeserved harm to America's | 14 |
| agriculture industry, especially pork producers; and
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| WHEREAS, Continued use of the term "Swine Flu" is damaging | 16 |
| to Illinois' pork industry, as well as the State as a whole; | 17 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 20 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge all State agencies, |
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| their representatives, and all private media outlets to cease | 2 |
| using the term "Swine Flu" and further urge them to use the | 3 |
| term "2009 H1N1 Influenza" in its place; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 |
| presented to the Governor, the Director of the Illinois | 6 |
| Department of Agriculture, and the Director of the Illinois | 7 |
| Department of Public Health.
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