[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 95 (Thursday, July 20, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H6605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         GENETIC DISCRIMINATION

  (Mrs. MORELLA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleague, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Slaughter), in support of H.R. 2457, 
the Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill would protect the fundamental civil right of 
all Americans against genetic discrimination. Genetic discrimination is 
an issue whose time has come. As most of us are aware, on June 26 of 
this year it was announced that the first draft of the human genomic 
map has been completed. A decade ago, scanning genes for disease-linked 
mutations seemed unimaginable. In the past 5 years alone, over 50 new 
genetic tests have been identified to make detection of genetic 
conditions, and it is now possible to find the genetic mutations 
associated with such malignancies as breast cancer, colon cancer, 
Huntington's disease, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease just to name a 
few.
  Unfortunately, as a consequence, we not only hear stories of 
successful treatment for some of these diseases, but we are hearing 
stories of lives being destroyed because of denial of health insurance 
or loss of jobs.
  We must end this terrible practice of genetic discrimination. We 
should do it now.

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