[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 46 (Tuesday, April 23, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF OVARIAN CANCER DETECTION LEGISLATION

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                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 23, 2002

  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to announce I am 
introducing in Congress with Representative DeLauro of Connecticut a 
resolution that will result in the National Institutes of Health 
conducting a complete, multi-institutional trial of a potentially huge 
breakthrough in early ovarian cancer detection.
  About 75 percent of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the 
advanced stage of the disease, when survival rates are only 20 percent 
for five years. Early detection brings survival up to 95 percent. 
Scientists from the FDA and the National Cancer Institute reported in 
early February that patterns of protein found in blood serum may 
reflect the presence of the disease.
  Our resolution will make sure that the National Institutes of Health 
completes a full field test of the new ovarian cancer early detection 
process. If the full trial of this simple blood test for ovarian cancer 
proves effective, I will fight to require that the blood test be given 
to all women as part of their annual gynecological exam and that 
Medicare/Medicaid and private insurance fully cover the procedure.
  Tough legislation? You bet! But the time to act is now.
  Ovarian cancer, the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers, is the 
fourth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women. Ovarian cancer 
occurs in one out of 57 women; an estimated 13,900 American women died 
from ovarian cancer in 2001 alone.
  The question before us today is whether we have the determination to 
commit our national resources to the health of our people. Some people 
say we don't have the resources to provide for the health needs of our 
women. But if we would stop throwing away $40 billion to farmers not to 
grow crops, maybe then we could insure that women who undergo the 
trauma of mastectomy are not thrown out of hospitals after 1 day. 
Instead of spending $35 billion in subsidies to the biggest Gas, Oil, 
Drilling and Mining Companies in America, how about subsidizing a 
prescription drug benefit for seniors? If we would stop retroactive 
corporate tax giveaways to provide the biggest corporations in America 
with a retroactive repeal, a rebate check, of corporate taxes dating 
back to 1986 so that ENRON would have received a payment from you for 
$125 million in rebated corporate taxes when it did not pay a penny in 
corporate taxes for the past 4 years. How about making sure those 
companies pay their fair share and maybe we could save the lives of our 
women from ovarian cancer. If we would close tax loopholes that permit 
rich corporations to run off to Bermuda to avoid paying US taxes, then 
maybe we could provide a prescription health benefit, reform the HMO 
system, broaden the scope of research and coverage on women 
gynecological cancers.
  Governing is about making choices, and Representative Rosa DeLaura 
and I are here today to make a choice. We are choosing the life of the 
women of America, and that's why we are introducing this important 
resolution.
  Our nation has found the resolve and the resources to tackle the most 
difficult problems on earth, to produce the most advanced technology, 
to produce the weapons we need to protect our national security. We 
must now find the resolve and the resources to protect our people, and 
especially our women, from the ravages of disease.
  Mr. Speaker, that is our obligation. It is my obligation. I am 
confident we can achieve our goals by working together.

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