[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 86 (Friday, June 30, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1167-E1168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        BREAST CANCER RESEARCH STAMP REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. RICK LAZIO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 29, 2000

  Mr. LAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the bill entitled the 
Breast Cancer Research Stamps Reauthorization Act of 2000.
  Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in 
the United States. More than 2 million American women are currently 
living with the disease, 1 million of whom have yet to be diagnosed. 
This year alone, 182,800 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. 
Over 40,000 of them will lose their battle with this killer.
  Breast cancer has taken an awful toll on the people of my home state. 
New York has the second-highest breast cancer mortality rate in the 
country. Between 1980 and 1994, the incidence of breast cancer in New 
York increased nearly 18 percent. Enactment of this bill will go a long 
way toward helping our effort to increase funding for breast cancer 
research. Only through the help of continued cancer research have more 
and more people become cancer survivors in recent years.
  Since the issuance of the Breast Cancer Research stamp in the summer 
of 1998, 164 million Breast Cancer Research stamps have been sold 
raising over $12 million for breast cancer research. The stamp provides 
a convenient avenue for participation in the battle against this 
horrible disease. Unfortunately, without congressional intervention, 
the stamp will expire on July 28, 2000. Valuable research funds, as 
well as a mechanism to heighten public awareness of this horrible 
disease, will be lost.
  This bill, The Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of 
2000 would extend the sale of the Breast Cancer Research stamp for an 
additional two years. The stamp would continue to cost 40 cents and 
sell as a first class stamp. The additional funds that are raised will 
go directly to breast cancer research at the National Institutes of 
Health and the Department of Defense.
  I am pleased to report that this reauthorization bill has tremendous 
support throughout the health community. Supporters of the Breast 
Cancer Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2000 include the American Cancer 
Society, the American Medical Association, the Y-Me National Breast 
Cancer Organization, Leadership America, the National Association of 
Women's Health, the American Cancer League, the American College of 
Surgeons, Friends of Cancer Research, and many others.
  A Breast Cancer Research Stamp remains just as necessary today as it 
was when this authority was signed into law two years ago. According to 
the American Association for Cancer Research, 8 million people are 
alive today as a result of cancer research. To say that every dollar we 
continue to raise will save lives, can only underscore the importance 
of this legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in enacting this important 
legislation.

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