[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 14, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH AND WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, as we know, we proclaimed 
Women's History Month last week; and the topic last week was on 
education, women and education. Today I rise to speak about women's 
health issues as part of our Women's History Month series.
  Since the earliest days of the Nation, women have acted as the health 
gatekeepers of their families. In recent years, however, it has become 
clear that women have significant health concerns of their own, such as 
breast and cervical cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis.
  But women's health issues are much more than individual diseases. It 
is a lifespan issue, beginning with the delivery of high-quality 
prenatal care services to when a woman lives out of her final days, 
hopefully after a full, productive and healthy life.
  Sadly, though, Mr. Speaker, the health of the Nation's women is 
severely jeopardized by preventable illnesses, inadequate access to 
health care, poverty, domestic violence, chronic disease and a host of 
other factors.
  Currently, nearly 18 percent of nonelderly women have no health 
insurance. Even worse, more than 30 percent of Hispanic women and 
nearly 25 percent of African American women between the ages of 19 and 
24 have no health insurance.
  Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death among all 
women. Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of women, and its 
rate continues to increase. Battering is the number one cause of injury 
to women today, causing more injuries that require medical treatment 
than car crashes and mugging combined.
  In addition, one study found that 25 to 45 percent of battered women 
experience physical violence while they are pregnant.
  Much shame, Mr. Speaker. So much work needs to be done to help 
alleviate these startling statistics. There needs to be increased 
funding and more major national projects for women's health research, 
services and education. There is also a need to be a focus on women's 
health through the life cycle: adolescent, reproductive, middle-aged 
and older women, since their needs are different.
  Last but not least, Mr. Speaker, we need to work to eliminate 
barriers to health care services for underserved women.
  Mr. Speaker, much work has been done in the last couple of decades 
concerning research and education about women's health, but there is 
much more to be done. When the President spoke at the State of the 
Union, he mentioned an increase in funding for NIH. I was pleased to 
hear that, because I felt that we can have an increase in funding for 
cervical cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, heart disease and 
diabetes. So Mr. Speaker, I will be introducing a bill suggesting the 
increased funding for those areas.
  I would also call on the President to provide the health insurance 
for those over 10 million children who are without health insurance and 
the women who are without health insurance.
  So, as we celebrate Women's History Month, let us be mindful of the 
need for increased funding for women's health.

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