[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 22 (Friday, February 23, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S1297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                            By Mr. D'AMATO:

  S. 1573. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
establish and provide a checkoff for a Breast and Prostate Cancer 
Research Fund, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.


           the taxpayers' cancer research funding act of 1996

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, breast and prostate cancer have 
taken a horrible toll on women and men throughout the world and we must 
make every effort to eradicate these pervasive diseases. Breast cancer 
is a deadly epidemic that strikes over 180,000 women each year. It will 
kill more than 44,000 women this year alone. Similarly, prostate cancer 
will strike an estimated 317,000 men, and will kill roughly 41,000 men 
this year. We cannot allow these appalling rates to continue unabated. 
We need to do something now. We need a cure and finding a cure takes 
money--a tremendous amount of money.
  I rise today to introduce legislation to add another weapon to our 
arsenal in the fight against breast and prostate cancer. My bill will 
provide vital resources for the fight to eradicate this dire threat to 
the lives of women and men across our Nation. In addition, my bill will 
support our efforts to combat one of the leading cancer killers of men: 
prostate cancer. This is a very straightforward bill. This bill will 
augment existing Federal research funding by easily allowing taxpayers 
to get directly involved by contributing to a newly established fund 
expressly earmarked for breast and prostate cancer research.
  On the Federal income tax return there currently exists a box that 
can be selected for Federal campaign contributions. My bill will amend 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by establishing a similar box for a 
Federal breast and prostate cancer research fund. This will allow our 
citizens to cross swords with this dual scourge by simply placing a 
check in a box on their income tax return, as with the campaign 
contribution fund. One point needs to be made very clear--this is not 
an additional tax. This is a purely voluntary means by which concerned 
citizens may earmark a minor but vital portion of their Federal income 
tax payments expressly for breast and prostate cancer research.
  Breast cancer is a truly horrible disease. Its incidence is rising at 
an alarming rate. In 1960, 1 out of every 14 women developed breast 
cancer in her lifetime. A few years ago it was 1 in 10. Now the figure 
is one in eight. We cannot allow this trend to continue. According to 
the National Cancer Institute's calculations, breast cancer comprises 
about 30 percent of all female cancers and it is estimated that the 
cost to the nation in the form of direct and indirect health care costs 
will exceed $16 billion annually. The NCI also says that reductions in 
breast cancer mortality will have a significant influence on these 
costs to the Nation.
  Like breast cancer among women, prostate cancer is a leading killer 
of American men. According to the American Cancer Society, this dreaded 
disease is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. It is 
projected to take the lives of approximately 41,000 men in 1996 alone.
  Congress has just begun to pay more attention to these terrible 
diseases by devoting increased funding for breast and prostate cancer 
research at the Federal level. We have made tremendous progress, but 
much more remains to be done. Given current budget constraints we need 
a mechanism to increase breast and prostate cancer funding every year 
from here on out.
  Our current method of breast cancer treatment is not a cure. Today's 
treatments for breast cancer are very crude. We treat women with 
poison, radiation, and radical surgery with the hope that we will kill 
the cancer and not the woman. This is similar to dropping a tiny atom 
bomb. What we need is a smart bomb for breast cancer. Something which 
will specifically kill the breast cancer cells without causing 
destruction to the rest of the women's body and immune system. This can 
only be accomplished with an additional infusion of breast cancer 
research dollars. We also need to recruit more scientists and new ideas 
and innovations into this field. More money will jumpstart research but 
it must also cover the funding needs of research scientist and their 
programs.
  I am personally determined to do everything I can to fight for the 
eradication of breast and prostate cancer. I hope to enlist the aid of 
my colleagues in the establishment of this Federal breast and prostate 
cancer research fund. Breast and prostate cancer can only be 
understood, and eventually conquered, through increased research We 
need a cure and we need one now. It is therefore critical that we all 
join together in this effort to help speed the discovery of a cure for 
these dreaded diseases.
  Mr. President, I urge the adoption of this critical bill.

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