[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 112 (Friday, August 1, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2015, BALANCED BUDGET ACT OF 1997

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                               speech of

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 1997

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, as a longtime proponent and 
sponsor of colorectal cancer screening legislation, I am particularly 
pleased that the House and Senate conferees have reached an agreement 
to authorize Medicare coverage of colorectal cancer screening as part 
of the preventative benefits package in the reconciliation bill before 
the Congress today.
  Passage of this legislation is not, however, the final step in 
establishing comprehensive colorectal cancer screening for Medicare 
recipients. The legislation requires the Department of Health and Human 
Services to determine, within 90 days, whether the barium determination 
is an appropriate alternative to procedures covered by the bill. Once 
this determination is made, the initial Medicare Program for colorectal 
cancer screening will be fully established.
  I hope and expect that in making the determination with regard to 
coverage of the barium examination, the Secretary of HHS will consider 
the particular screening needs of African-Americans. Although 
colorectal cancer screening is an important preventative care procedure 
for all Medicare recipients, it is a particularly important screening 
procedure for African-Americans who suffer a disparate impact from this 
disease.
  One statistic that has often been cited in the debate on colorectal 
cancer bears repeating: African-Americans who get colorectal cancer are 
50 percent more likely to die of the disease than other Americans. 
There are a number of reasons for this statistic, but it is, at least, 
in part because African-Americans tend to get colon cancer in the 
portion of the colon beyond the reach of the sigmoidoscope. This means 
that the most common screening procedure for colorectal cancer, 
sigmoidoscopy, is inadequate for these elderly Americans, and a full 
colon screening procedure is required.
  Mr. Speaker, I once again commend the conferees for developing this 
colorectal cancer screening provision. This provision has the potential 
to save thousands of lives that would otherwise be lost to colorectal 
cancer, and to improve the quality of life for those whose colorectal 
cancer is detected early in a routine screening. I am proud to have 
been involved in developing this legislation, and for being part of the 
Congress that saw its enactment.

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