[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           MAMMOGRAPHY POLICY

  Section 208 of the compromise agreement seeks to address a 
discrepancy between VA's stated principles and their clinical practice 
with respect to breast cancer programs. Though a guiding principle of 
the Veterans Health Administration states that ``the quality of care in 
VHA must be demonstratively equal to, or better than, what is available 
in the local community,'' in my view, VHA's breast cancer detection 
policy fails to achieve community standards because it only targets 
women between the ages of 50 to 69.

  Section 208 requires the VA to adopt a comprehensive national policy 
on breast cancer detection. Rather than requiring the VA to adhere to a 
specific clinical standard, the provision relays the sense of the 
Congress that VA's policy be in accordance with guidelines issued by 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the 
National Institutes of Health.
  Mr. President, it is very important that veterans have access to 
preventive diagnostic tests to protect their health. Because breast 
cancer is the leading cause of cancer in women, I look forward to 
receiving VA's national policy on breast cancer detection.
  I thank Senator Specter for his leadership on this issue.

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