[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 16, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2778-S2779]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 62--PROCLAIMING THE MONTH OF JANUARY 1999 AS 
                   ``NATIONAL CERVICAL HEALTH MONTH''

  Mr. MACK (for himself Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Akaka, Mrs. 
Boxer, Mr. Cleland, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Fitzgerald, 
Mr. Frist, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Hollings, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. 
Hutchinson, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. McConnell, Ms. 
Mikulski, Mr. Murkoswki, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Roth, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Smith 
of Oregon, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, Mr. Stevens. Mr. Thurmond, and Mr. 
Torricelli) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                               S. Res. 62

       Whereas cervical cancer annually strikes approximately 
     15,000 American women;
       Whereas cervical cancer strikes 1 out of 50 American women;
       Whereas estimates show that physicians will diagnose more 
     than 150,000 American women with cervical cancer during the 
     1990's;
       Whereas according to the National Cancer Institute 
     Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program, the 5-
     year survival rate of cervical cancer victims is 91 percent 
     when physicians detect the cancer at an early stage;
       Whereas cervical cancer is preventable, yet remains one of 
     the leading causes of death among American women;
       Whereas according to the United States Centers for Disease 
     Control and Prevention, the mortality rate among American 
     women with cervical cancer declined between 1960 and 1997, 
     yet recently began to rise;
       Whereas cervical cancer survivors show tremendous courage 
     and determination in the face of adversity; and
       Whereas it is important that the United States support 
     individuals with cervical cancer, as well as their families 
     and loved ones, through public awareness and education 
     programs: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) proclaims the month of January 1999 as ``National 
     Cervical Health Month''; and
       (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling upon the people of the United States to observe the 
     month with appropriate programs and activities.

 Mr. MACK. Mr. President, in an effort to help increase 
awareness and education about cervical cancer, and to pay tribute to 
women who have battled the disease, today I am submitting a Senate 
Resolution to designate the month of January as ``National Cervical 
Health Month.'' I am pleased that Senator Dianne Feinstein and 31 
bipartisan colleagues in the Senate have agreed to be original co-
sponsors of this Senate Resolution. I understand that Representative 
Juanita Millender-McDonald will be introducing similar legislation in 
the United States House of Representatives, and I would like to commend 
her for the leadership she has shown in this important effort.
  I would also like to pay tribute to Ms. Carol Ann Armenti, Director 
of the Center for Cervical Health in Toms River, New Jersey. Ms. 
Armenti has worked tirelessly on behalf of cervical cancer patients and 
their families, and she has been a true leader in educating women about 
this disease. In January, her organization, along with the American 
Medical Women's Association, launched the National Cervical Cancer 
Public Education Campaign. The leadership of Ms. Armenti will have a 
lasting impact upon the lives of women of today, and future generations 
will be the beneficiaries of her work.
  Mr. President, the issue of cervical cancer is one which is deeply 
personal to my wife, Priscilla, and to me. In 1990, our daughter, 
Debbie, was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Because of our family 
history with cancer, Debbie was aware that she had an increased risk of 
cancer and she made sure to take advantage of early detection screening 
procedures. Fortunately, her cervical cancer was detected at an early 
stage, and she was treated successfully with surgery. Not long after 
her treatment, she have birth to our third grandson. Debbie's 
experience with cervical cancer exemplifies the fact that early 
detection saves lives.
  According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 1,000 women in 
Florida will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1999. This year, 
Florida will have the third largest number of new cases of cervical 
cancer. Yet, despite significant progress being made in the war on 
cancer, not all segments of the U.S. population have benefitted to the 
fullest extent from the advances made in the understanding of cancer. 
According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine report, ``The Unequal 
Burden of Cancer,'' rates of cervical cancer are significantly higher 
in Hispanic and African-American women. We simply must reinforce our 
efforts to eradicate this terrible disease.
  Research, education, and early detection are the most effective 
weapons we have in the war on cervical cancer.

[[Page S2779]]

  Research is the key to finding a cure for cervical cancer, and 
significant progress is being made in this regard. Last month, the 
National Cancer Institute (NCI) took the rarely-used step of issuing a 
Clinical Announcement urging physicians to give strong consideration to 
adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy in the treatment of invasive 
cervical cancer. According to NCI Director Rick Klausner, this will 
likely change the standard of treatment for cervical cancer. Dr. 
Mitchell Morris of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center called this new 
treatment approach, ``the first fundamental advance in the treatment of 
cervical cancer in more than 40 years.''
  I'm also proud to say that several cutting-edge cervical cancer 
studies are taking place in my home state of Florida. Scientists at the 
University of Miami Sylvester Cancer Center are studying a new type of 
cervical cancer immunotherapy. They are developing ``killer cells'' 
specifically designed to target cancer cells which express human 
papilloma virus (HPV). By eradicating these cells, the hope is to kill 
the tumor, even if the cancer has spread. At the H. Lee Moffitt 
Comprehensive Cancer Center in Tampa, studies are underway to develop a 
cervical cancer vaccine using some of the same characteristics of the 
human papilloma virus. They are also examining biomarkers to detect 
cervical cancer before malignant changes occur.
  The U.S. Senate and House, working in bipartisan cooperation, have 
embarked upon an historic mission to double funding for the National 
Institutes of Health over the next five years. Last year, the Congress 
overwhelmingly passed, with bipartisan support, a $2 billion increase 
for the National Institutes of Health--the largest increase in NIH 
history.
  With the tremendous progress being made in cervical cancer and other 
diseases, I was astonished and extremely disappointed the President's 
FY 2000 budget only calls for a meager 2.6% increase for medical 
research at the NIH. This is simply unacceptable. The President's 
proposed budget means a cease-fire in the war against cancer, 
Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other illnesses. In 
effect, the President's proposal is a formal act of retreat in the heat 
of battle.
  I was also shocked that the President's FY 2000 budget calls for not 
one additional penny of funding for the Breast and Cervical Cancer 
Screening program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. 
For FY 1999, the bipartisan Congress provided a $16 million increase. 
By contrast, the President's request for FY 1999 was for an increase of 
less than $1 million for this life-saving program, and he proposes no 
increase for next year.
  When it comes to cervical cancer research and screening, the 
President just doesn't get it. It's obvious the leadership on these 
initiatives will have to come from this end of Pennsylvania Avenue. It 
will be through the bipartisan commitment of the Senate and House that 
these important research and detection programs will receive adequate 
funding. I want to pledge my support, and to work with my colleagues in 
Congress to make sure this happens. Far too many lives depend upon it.
  Mr. President, I encourage my colleagues to co-sponsor this 
resolution to designate January as ``National Cervical Health 
Month.''

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