[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 112 (Monday, September 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8388-S8389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 324--CONGRATULATING THE NATIONAL FARMERS UNION FOR
100 YEARS OF SERVICE TO FAMILY FARMERS, RANCHERS, AND RURAL COMMUNITIES
Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Lugar, Mr.
Daschle, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Nelson
of Nebraska, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Allard, Mr. Feingold, Mr.
Bayh, Mr. Crapo, Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Murray, Mr.
Jerffords, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. DeWine, Ms. Stabenow, and Mr.
Breaux) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry:
S. Res. 324
Whereas the National Farmers Union celebrates its
centennial anniversary in 2002;
Whereas during its 100 years of service to rural America,
the National Farmers Union has faithfully promoted the
organization's mission of education, legislation, and
cooperation as identified by its founders and proclaimed in
its triangular symbol;
Whereas the National Farmers Union represents nearly
300,000 family farmer and rancher members across the United
States;
Whereas the National Farmers Union epitomizes the spirit
and energy of hundreds of thousands of family farmers,
ranchers, rural advocates, and communities;
Whereas the National Farmers Union remains dedicated to
protecting and enhancing the quality of life for rural
America;
Whereas the National Farmers Union has been instrumental in
the establishment and progress of the farmer-owned
cooperative movement; and
Whereas the National Farmers Union strives to improve rural
America through proactive support and proposals to enhance
rural economic development, educational opportunities,
resource conservation, market competition, domestic farm
income, and international cooperation: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate commends and congratulates the
National Farmers Union for a century of dedicated service to
the farmers, ranchers, and rural communities of the United
States.
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 138--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT
THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SHOULD CONDUCT OR SUPPORT
RESEARCH ON CERTAIN TESTS TO SCREEN FOR OVARIAN CANCER, AND FEDERAL
HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS AND GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL HEALTH PLANS SHOULD COVER
THE TESTS IF DEMONSTRATED TO BE EFFECTIVE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Mr. REID (for himself and Ms. Cantwell) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions:
S. Con. Res. 138
Whereas ovarian cancer is a serious and under recognized
threat to women's health;
Whereas ovarian cancer, the deadliest of the gynecologic
cancers, is the fourth leading cause of cancer death among
women in the United States
Whereas ovarian cancer occurs in 1 out of 57 women in the
United States;
Whereas approximately 50 percent of the women in the United
States diagnosed with ovarian cancer die as a result of the
cancer within 5 years;
Whereas ovarian cancer is readily treatable when it is
detected in the beginning stages before it has spread beyond
the ovaries, but the vast majority of cases are not diagnosed
until the advanced stages when the cancer has spread beyond
the ovaries;
Whereas in cases where ovarian cancer is detected in the
beginning stages, more than 90 percent of women survive
longer than 5 years;
Whereas only 25 percent of ovarian cancer cases in the
United States are diagnosed in the beginning stages;
Whereas in cases where ovarian cancer is diagnosed in the
advanced stages, the chance of 5-year survival is only about
25 percent; and
Whereas ovarian cancer may be difficult to detect because
symptoms are easily confused with other diseases and because
there is no reliable, easy-to-administer screening tool: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting
through the Director of the National Institutes of Health--
(A) should conduct or support research on the effectiveness
of the medical screening technique of using proteomic
patterns in blood serum to identify ovarian cancer, including
the effectiveness of using the technique in combination with
other screening methods for ovarian cancer; and
(B) should continue to conduct or support other promising
ovarian cancer research that may lead to breakthroughs in
screening techniques;
(2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services should
submit to Congress a report on the research described in
paragraph (1)(A), including an analysis of the effectiveness
of the medical screening technique for identifying ovarian
cancer; and
(3) if the research demonstrates that the medical screening
technique is effective for identifying ovarian cancer,
Federal health care programs and group and individual health
plans should cover the technique.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I rise today for myself and Senator
Cantwell to submit a concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the
Congress that the Secretary of Health and Human Services should conduct
or support research to improve early detection of ovarian cancer.
Specifically, our resolution encourages continuing and accelerating the
development of an ovarian cancer screening test currently underway
through a public-private partnership including the National Cancer
Institute and the Food and Drug Administration.
Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers and the
fourth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.
Ovarian cancer occurs in 1 out of 57 women, and an estimated 13,900
American women died from ovarian cancer in 2001 alone.
Currently, approximately three-quarters of women with ovarian cancer
are diagnosed when they are already in advanced stages of the disease,
and only one in five will survive five years. However, if the disease
is caught early, the five-year survival rate jumps to 95 percent. Thus
providing a way to routinely identify the disease in its ``Stage 1''
phase could have a dramatic impact in what is now a very deadly cancer.
No screening test exists that can accurately detect ovarian cancer in
the early states when it is highly curable.
In the February 2002 issue of The Lancet, scientists from the Food
and Drug Administration and the National Cancer Institute reported that
patterns of protein found in patients' blood serum may reflect the
presence of ovarian cancer. Using an innovative testing approach,
analyzing patterns of blood protein rather than identifying single
blood biomarkers, researchers were able to differentiate between serum
samples taken from patients with ovarian cancer and those from
unaffected individuals.
However, this research finding was only a first step. Before the
scientific community will agree that protein screening is an accurate
and beneficial tool, additional multi-institutional trials must be
completed.
Patients would certainly be more willing to be tested if all that it
involved were a simple, finger-stick blood test, thus eliminating the
need for surgery, biopsy, or other painful, invasive, or risky
procedures. The critical advantage of such as screening test is early
detection, finding the disease when it is most treatable. Of course,
early detection of ovarian cancer will save health care costs, but,
more importantly, it will save lives.
This is why I am submitting this resolution. Our resolution
encourages the Department of Health and Human Services to rapidly
evaluate the efficacy of this cutting-edge work in the area of testing
for ovarian cancer. If the screening tests are proven effective, the
public must have the widest
[[Page S8389]]
possible access to them. Toward that end, the resolution provides that
they be covered by Federal health care programs and group and
individual health plans.
Representatives Steve Israel, and Rosa DeLauro, both tireless leaders
on cancer research and health issues, introduced this resolution, in
the House of Representatives. Through their efforts and bi-partisan
support, H. Con. Res. 385 was passed by the House of Representatives on
July 22. The resolution deserves the Senate's prompt attention, and I
urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.
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