[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H2877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN SUPPORT OF THE WOMEN'S HEALTH EQUITY ACT

  (Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in 
support of the Women's Health Equity Act and, in particular, in support 
of the osteoporosis provisions of the bill. Most women find out that 
they have osteoporosis when it is too late, after a bone fracture or a 
curvature of the spine has occurred. The real tragedy is that for many 
women the disease is preventable and treatable. But this is a disease 
that has an underlying condition that affects 25 million Americans, 
most of them, 80 percent of them, women. All of us lose bone mass as we 
age, but people with osteoporosis lose an excessive amount, leading to 
weak and brittle bones. As I just said, 80 percent of those suffering 
from osteoporosis are older women, and a woman's risk for hip fracture 
alone is now equal to the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
  It is time for us to give a little bit more attention to this 
disease, Madam Speaker.

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