[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 62 (Monday, May 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S4607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 92--TO EXPRESS THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT FUNDING 
     FOR PROSTATE CANCER RESEARCH SHOULD BE INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY

  Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Reid, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. 
Schumer, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Mack, Mr. Coverdell, and Mr. Helms) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension:

                               S. Res. 92

       Whereas in 1999, prostate cancer is expected to kill more 
     than 37,000 men in the United States and be diagnosed in over 
     180,000 new cases;
       Whereas prostate cancer is the most diagnosed nonskin 
     cancer in the United States;
       Whereas African Americans have the highest incidence of 
     prostate cancer in the world;
       Whereas considering the devastating impact of the disease 
     among men and their families, prostate cancer research 
     remains underfunded;
       Whereas more resources devoted to clinical and 
     translational research at the National Institutes of Health 
     will be highly determinative of whether rapid advances can be 
     attained in treatment and ultimately a cure for prostate 
     cancer;
       Whereas the Congressionally Directed Department of Defense 
     Prostate Cancer Research Program is making important strides 
     in innovative prostate cancer research, and this Program 
     presented to Congress in April of 1998 a full investment 
     strategy for prostate cancer research at the Department of 
     Defense; and
       Whereas the Senate expressed itself unanimously in 1998 
     that the Federal commitment to biomedical research should be 
     doubled over the next 5 years: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This resolution may be cited as the ``Prostate Cancer 
     Research Commitment Resolution of 1999''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

       It is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) finding treatment breakthroughs and a cure for prostate 
     cancer should be made a national health priority;
       (2) significant increases in prostate cancer research 
     funding, commensurate with the impact of the disease, should 
     be made available at the National Institutes of Health and to 
     the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program; 
     and
       (3) these agencies should prioritize prostate cancer 
     research that is directed toward innovative clinical and 
     translational research projects in order that treatment 
     breakthroughs can be more rapidly offered to patients.
 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I submit today the Prostate Cancer 
Research Commitment Resolution Act of 1999 along with several of my 
colleagues, Senators Lautenberg, Reid, Jeffords, Schumer, Ashcroft, 
Mack, Coverdell, and Helms.
  Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed nonskin cancer in the United 
States. More than 40 percent of all male cancers and 14 percent of all 
male cancer-related deaths are due to complications from prostate 
cancer. In 1998, over 40,000 American men died from prostate cancer, 
and in 1999, it is expected that this deadly disease will strike 
another 37,000 men in the United States.
  I, along with my colleagues, am deeply committed to aiding our 
medical community in their research efforts to find preventive measures 
to stem--and eventually eradicate--this disease.
  Our resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that funding for 
prostate cancer research should be increased substantially, 
commensurate with the impact of the disease. Funds should be made 
available at the National Institutes of Health and at the Department of 
Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program. We are also encouraging these 
agencies to prioritize prostate cancer research that is directed toward 
innovative research projects in order that treatment breakthroughs can 
be more rapidly offered to patients.
  Mr. President, this is an important step on behalf of men in the 
United States who have suffered from prostate cancer. Increasing funds 
for research would assist the medical community in its efforts to 
identify preventive measures men can take through prostate cancer 
screening procedures.
  I am pleased to offer this resolution today and I urge my colleagues 
to support this legislation.

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