[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 41 (Wednesday, April 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2925-S2926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Ms. Snowe, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. 
        Hutchison, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Moseley-Braun, Mrs. Murray, Ms. 
        Collins, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Kennedy, 
        Mr. Biden, Mr. Faircloth, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Inouye, 
        Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Ford, Mr. Reid, 
        Mr. Leahy, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Chafee, Mr. 
        Feingold, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Reed, Mr. Mack, Mr. Robb, Mr. 
        Jeffords, Mr. Levin, Mr. Frist, Mr. Bond, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. 
        Specter, Mr. Burns, Mr. Glenn, Mr. Coats, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. 
        Lieberman):
  S. 537. A bill to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to 
revise and extend the mammography quality standards program; to the 
Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


                 the mammography quality standards act

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am honored to be joined by my 
colleagues, both men and women from both sides of the aisle, in 
introducing the reauthorization of the Mammography Quality Standards 
Act [MQSA]. The bill I am introducing today reauthorizes the original 
legislation which passed in 1992 with bipartisan support.

  What MQSA does is require that all facilities that provide mammograms 
meet key safety and quality-assurance standards in the area of 
personnel, equipment, and operating procedures. Before the law passed, 
tests were misread, women were misdiagnosed, and people died as a 
result of sloppy work. Since 1992, MQSA has been successful in bringing 
facilities into compliance with the Federal standards.
  What are these national, uniform quality standards for mammography? 
Well, facilities are required to use equipment designed specifically 
for mammography. Only radiological technologists can perform 
mammography. Only qualified doctors can interpret the results of 
mammography. Facilities must establish a quality assurance and control 
program to ensure reliability, clarity, and accurate interpretation of 
mammograms. Facilities must be inspected annually by qualified 
inspectors. Finally, facilities must be accredited by an accrediting 
body approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  This current reauthorization makes a few minor changes to the law to 
ensure the following: Patients and referring physicians must be advised 
of any mammography facility deficiency. Women are guaranteed the right 
to obtain an original of their mammogram. Finally, both State and local 
government agencies are permitted to have inspection authority.
  I like this law because it has saved lives. The frontline against 
breast cancer is mammography. We know that early detection saves lives. 
But a mammogram is worse than useless if it produces a poor-quality 
image or is misinterpreted. The first rule of all medical treatment is: 
Above all things, do no harm. And a bad mammogram can do real harm by 
leading a woman and her doctor to believe that nothing is wrong when 
something is. The result can be unnecessary suffering or even a death 
that could have been prevented. That is why this legislation is so 
important. This law must be reauthorized so that we don't go back to 
the old days when women's lives were in jeopardy.
  I want to make sure that women's health care needs are met 
comprehensively. It is expected that 180,000 new cases of breast cancer 
will be diagnosed and about 44,000 women will die from the disease in 
1997. This makes breast cancer the most common cancer among women. And 
only lung cancer causes more deaths in women.
  We must aggressively pursue prevention in our war on breast cancer. I 
pledge to fight for new attitudes and find new ways to end the needless 
pain and death that too many American women face. This bill is an 
important step in that direction. On behalf of all the women of the 
Senate, I invite the men of the Senate who have not already cosponsored 
to do so. The women of America are counting on your support.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to voice my strong support, as 
an original cosponsor of the reauthorization of the Mammography Quality 
Standards Act [MQSA].
  I first lent my support to this effort when the MQSA was initially 
introduced and passed in the 102nd Congress. For the past 5 years, this 
critically important legislation has provided women with safe and 
reliable mammography services. As the Mammography Quality Standards Act 
comes up for reauthorization, I urge all of my fellow colleagues to 
once again make a commitment to the health and well being of America's 
women by supporting this legislation.
  Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer to affect women. In 
fact, almost 1 in 9 women will develop breast cancer at some point in 
their lives. Mammography, while not a cure for cancer, provides the 
best detection system for diagnosing this dangerous and deadly disease. 
And, early detection of breast cancer is often the key to effective 
treatment and recovery.
  The Mammography Quality Standards Act ensures that mammography 
service providers comply with Federal requirements. These quality 
standards guard against inaccurate or inconclusive mammography results, 
thereby reducing the costly procedures associated with false positive 
diagnoses.
  Before this legislation was originally enacted, women were often at 
the mercy of their mammography service provider, unaware if these 
providers lacked the necessary equipment, or even adequately trained 
technicians. The MQSA is helping to effectively eliminate concerns of 
substandard mammography and its possibly tragic results by assuring 
that only the correct radiological equipment is used in

[[Page S2926]]

mammography testing. Further, this legislation is assuring women that 
only physicians adequately trained in this medical area are 
interpreting mammograms.
  New to this legislation are some additional requirements which seek 
to further assure women that their mammogram service produces the most 
accurate and timely detection of any irregularities. Mammography 
service providers will now be required to retain women's mammogram 
records so that an accurate medical history is maintained. 
Reauthorization of these quality standards will also ensure that 
patients are notified about substandard mammography facilities.
  I wish to commend Senator Mikulski for her leadership on this crucial 
legislation. Again, it is my pleasure to join my colleagues in ensuring 
that quality mammography service is readily available, and I urge the 
Senate to act quickly and approve this critically important measure for 
American women.

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