[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 10 (Monday, February 2, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       MAMMOGRAPHY QUALITY STANDARDS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, on behalf of the leader, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of Calendar No. 424, S. 1879, relating to mammography 
quality standards.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1879) to amend the Public Health Service Act to 
     revise and extend provisions relating to mammography quality 
     standards.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am pleased that today the Senate will 
pass the Mammography Quality Standards Reauthorization Act of 2003, S. 
1879. I am pleased to be sponsoring this bill with Senator Ensign and 
our bipartisan cosponsors. This important bill is about saving lives. 
That's what the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) does. Accurate 
mammograms detect breast cancer early, so women can get treatment and 
be survivors.
  Mammography is not perfect, but it is the best screening tool we have 
now. I authored MQSA over 10 years ago to improve the quality of 
mammograms so that they are safe and accurate. Before MQSA became law, 
there was an uneven and conflicting patchwork of standards for 
mammography in this country. There were no national quality standards 
for personnel or equipment. Image quality of mammograms and patient 
exposure to radiation levels varied widely. The quality of mammography 
equipment was poor. Physicians and technologists were poorly trained. 
Inspections were lacking.
  MQSA set Federal safety and quality assurance standards for 
mammography facilities for: personnel, including doctors who interpret 
mammograms; equipment; and operating procedures. By creating national 
standards, Congress helped make mammograms a more reliable tool for 
detecting breast cancer. In 1998, Congress improved MQSA by giving 
information on test results directly to the women being tested, so no 
woman falls through the cracks because she never learns about a 
suspicious finding on her mammogram. Now it is time to renew MQSA and 
lay the foundation to strengthen it even further.
  The bill passed by the Senate today will extend MQSA for 2-years. 
This 2-year reauthorization of MQSA is important. It will give Congress 
an opportunity to consider in the next reauthorization expert 
recommendations from an Institute of Medicine, IOM, study and a General 
Accounting Office, GAO, report on several issues related to MQSA. I 
have been working with the Labor, Health and Human Services, HHS, and 
Education Appropriations Subcommittee to get these studies underway. 
The IOM study was included in the fiscal year 2004 omnibus 
appropriations bill. The HELP Committee also heard testimony in support 
of a 2 year reauthorization at its hearing last year on MQSA.
  This legislation is also supported by groups including the American 
Cancer Society, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the 
National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations, Y-ME National Breast 
Cancer Organization, and the American College of Radiology Association.
  I thank Senators Gregg and Kennedy for their support and help in 
moving this legislation through the Senate. I hope that the House will 
move quickly to pass this important bill. It is estimated that over 
217,400 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed and over 40,500 
breast cancer deaths will occur in the United States this year. Early 
detection and treatment are important to reducing breast cancer deaths. 
Congress should pass this bill to reauthorize MQSA and extend this 
valuable program that helps save the lives of women and men with breast 
cancer.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. On behalf of the leader, I ask unanimous consent that 
the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table and that any statements relating to the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1879) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1879

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Mammography Quality 
     Standards Reauthorization Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. TEMPORARY RENEWAL AND LIMITED PROVISIONAL 
                   CERTIFICATE.

       Section 354 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     263b) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)--
       (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting ``or a 
     temporary renewal certificate'' after ``certificate''; and
       (ii) in clause (i), by striking ``subsection (c)(1)'' and 
     inserting ``paragraphs (1) or (2) of subsection (c)'';
       (B) in subparagraph (B)--
       (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting ``or a 
     limited provisional certificate'' after ``certificate''; and
       (ii) in clause (i), by striking ``subsection (c)(2)'' and 
     inserting ``paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (c)''; and
       (C) in the flush matter at the end, by striking 
     ``provisional certificate'' and inserting ``temporary renewal 
     certificate, provisional certificate, or a limited 
     provisional certificate''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (4); and
       (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) Temporary renewal certificate.--The Secretary may 
     issue a temporary renewal certificate, for a period of not to 
     exceed 45 days, to a facility seeking reaccreditation if the 
     accreditation body has issued an accreditation extension, for 
     a period of not to exceed 45 days, for any of the following:
       ``(A) The facility has submitted the required materials to 
     the accreditation body within the established time frames for 
     the submission of such materials but the accreditation body 
     is unable to complete the reaccreditation process before the 
     certification expires.
       ``(B) The facility has acquired additional or replacement 
     equipment, or has had significant personnel changes or other 
     unforeseen situations that have caused the facility to be 
     unable to meet reaccreditation timeframes, but in the opinion 
     of the accreditation body have not compromised the quality of 
     mammography.
       ``(3) Limited provisional certificate.--The Secretary may, 
     upon the request of an accreditation body, issue a limited 
     provisional certificate to an entity to enable the entity to 
     conduct examinations for educational purposes while an onsite 
     visit from an accreditation body is in progress. Such 
     certificate shall be valid only during the time the site 
     visit team from the accreditation body is physically in the 
     facility, and in no case shall be valid for longer than 72 
     hours. The issuance of a certificate under this paragraph, 
     shall not preclude the entity from qualifying for a 
     provisional certificate under paragraph (4).''.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 354(r)(2) of the 
     Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 263b(r)(2)(A) and (B)) 
     are amended by striking ``2002'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``2005''.

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