[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 135 (Thursday, October 7, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H9638-H9639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, we took the extraordinary action in the last 
Congress of creating an opportunity for States to provide health 
insurance to the children of the working poor. As we commemorate 
October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we should take the 
opportunity to pass H.R. 1070 to expand Medicaid coverage to screen for 
breast and cervical cancer.
  This bill will provide cancer screening for the mothers and 
grandmothers of the children that we covered under the child health 
initiative. These women are the waitresses, the domestic workers, and 
the farmers' wives who do not have the financial ability to take 
advantage of preventative cancer screenings.
  Their low-paying jobs do not provide them with the insurance coverage 
that would cover the costs of breast and cervical cancer screenings, 
but they also make them ineligible for Medicaid. If they were 
unemployed or on welfare they would be covered by Medicaid, and thus 
receive the screening services.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot overstate the relationship between cancer 
screening and early detection. We all know that early detection saves 
the lives of women who are impacted by breast and cervical cancer. For 
example, the American Cancer Society estimates that of the 46,000 
breast cancer deaths in 1994, 14,000 women, almost one-third, could 
have been saved with early detection. That means that approximately one 
in three women died needlessly.

                              {time}  1700

  That is why I fought so hard to convince the National Cancer 
Institute to maintain the age for mammography at 40 rather than pushing 
it back to age 50.
  I am very pleased that, in 1997, NCI finally, finally agreed to 
restore their guidelines to the recommended biennial mammograms for 
women aged 40 to 49. This screening tool definitely needs to be readily 
available to women in this age group.
  In fact, 29,000 women between the age of 40 and 49 are diagnosed with 
breast cancer every year. Of these 29,000, a disproportionate 
percentage will be African-American women, minority women. 
Particularly, black American women have a 25 percent higher mortality 
rate because their cancer is not detected early enough.
  In addition to screening for breast cancer, H.R. 1070 will also 
provide reimbursement for cervical cancer screenings. Testimony before 
the Committee on Commerce also confirmed that cervical cancer is 95 
percent treatable and curable if detected in time.
  Working poor women are not receiving these screening services simply 
because they fall between the cracks of being too young for Medicare, 
not poor enough for Medicaid, and no access to commercial health 
insurance.
  It is not often that we have a chance to save lives simply by 
improving access to prevention tools. Through the expansion of Medicaid 
coverage this month, we have that opportunity with H.R. 1070.
  I would hope that my colleagues will support the inclusion of the 
important measure in whatever budget initiatives we enact this session. 
The working women of this Nation deserves a fighting chance against 
breast and cervical cancer.
  In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let us give them 
this chance by enacting H.R. 1070. That is the way to say ``thank you'' 
to people like Laura Brown and the Magic Johnson Foundation for all the 
work that they do.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 
and we have joined together tonight to urge our colleagues to work with 
us to increase funding for breast cancer research, treatment, and 
prevention, and to expand insurance coverage for screening and 
treatment. Each year, more than 180,000 new cases of breast cancer are 
diagnosed in the United States. One in eight women will develop breast 
cancer in their lifetimes, and it is the second leading cause of cancer 
deaths in women. Last year, about 46,000 of our grandmothers, mothers, 
aunts, nieces, sisters, cousins, dear friends, and colleagues died from 
this devastating disease.
  Tonight, I will be receiving the Yetta Rosenbert Humanitarian Service 
Award from the Gloria Heyison Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. at a 
special reception to launch Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In 1992, 
Marc Heyison created the Gloria Heyison Breast Cancer Foundation in 
love and honor of his mother, a breast cancer survivor. The Foundation 
also will be raising funds for The Check It Out Program presented by 
Suburban Hospital, the mobile mammography program at The George 
Washington University, and other programs that educate the public about 
the importance of early detection in breast cancer.
  I mention this to highlight the role of organizations that advocate 
on behalf of breast cancer funding and education programs. Without 
organizations, such as the Gloria Heyison Breast Cancer Foundation, we 
would not have made the tremendous advances in funding for breast 
cancer research over the past decade.
  Federal funding for breast cancer research totaled $91 million in 
1993; it grew to $500 million in 1997. However, despite the increases 
in funding for breast cancer research and prevention in recent years, 
we still have few options for prevention and treatment. The National 
Cancer Institute received the highest funding increase of all of the 
institutes in last year's appropriations bill, and I hope that we will 
be able to make even greater strides in the Fiscal Year 2000 bill. I 
particularly thank Chairman John Porter for his leadership in working 
to bolster our federal investment in biomedical research, including 
breast cancer

[[Page H9639]]

research, as well as the members of his subcommittee.
  Earlier this year, Congresswoman Nita Lowey and I circulated a 
congressional letter urging the Appropriations National Security 
Subcommittee to provide $175 million for the peer-reviewed breast 
cancer research program at the Department of Defense, a letter co-
signed by 225 of our colleagues. The peer-reviewed breast cancer 
research program has gained a well-deserved reputation for its 
innovation and efficient use of resources, with over ninety percent of 
program funds going directly to research grants. We must continue to 
increase our investment in this important program.
  We must also work to better translate new research findings to 
clinical applications, both through a greater focus on clinical 
research and through technology transfer. As Chair of the Technology 
Subcommittee, I have been working to facilitate technology transfer 
between government agencies and the private sector. Efforts such as the 
``missiles to mammograms'' project between the Public Health Service, 
the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, and NASA, are 
critically important in applying new technologies to the fight against 
breast cancer.
  Access to mammography screening is another critical issue. The 
Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues had a major victory during the 
last Congress when the Balanced Budget Act included annual coverage for 
mammography screening under Medicare.
  As of last year, the breast and cervical cancer screening program had 
provided more than 1.2 million breast and cervical cancer screenings, 
education, and follow-up services for low-income women across the 
country. While this program has been very successful, we must ensure 
that efforts are expanded to better reach disadvantaged and minority 
populations.
  As an increasing number of mastectomies and lymph node dissections 
are performed as outpatient surgery, Congress should ensure that women 
receive the hospital care and insurance coverage they need. We must 
hold hearings and pass legislation to require health plans to provide 
coverage for a minimum hospital stay for mastectomies and lymph node 
dissection for the treatment of breast cancer. Congresswoman Rosa 
DeLauro and Congresswoman Sue Kelly have each introduced legislation 
that would provide 48 hours of inpatient care following a mastectomy 
and 24 hours of inpatient care following a lymph node dissection for 
the treatment of breast cancer. I am a cosponsor and strong supporter 
of this critical legislation. Women and their doctors--not their 
insurance companies--should determine whether a shorter stay is 
sufficient.
  These initiatives are just a few of the many important efforts 
underway to address the critical issue of breast cancer. For as long as 
I serve in Congress, I will continue to work with my colleagues on 
programs that will provide fuel for the hopes of patients and 
scientists alike and move us forward in the battle against breast 
cancer.

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