[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 133 (Wednesday, October 19, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S11556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2005

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the need for 
hate crimes legislation. Each Congress, Senator Kennedy and I introduce 
hate crimes legislation that would add new categories to current hate 
crimes law, sending a signal that violence of any kind is unacceptable 
in our society. Likewise, each Congress I have come to the floor to 
highlight a separate hate crime that has occurred in our country.
  John Solis was attacked and beaten after a gay-pride event in 
Brooklyn, NY on June 29, 2004. A dozen people shouted anti-gay slurs at 
Solis. When he turned to confront them they attacked him with baseball 
bats. Solis's wrist was broken and he was hit in the head. The police 
were slow to respond and ineffective.
  I believe that the government's first duty is to defend its citizens, 
to defend them against the harms that come out of hate. The Local Law 
Enforcement Enhancement Act is a symbol that can become substance. I 
believe that by passing this legislation and changing current law, we 
can change hearts and minds as well.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today, as Breast Cancer Awareness 
Month comes to a close, to urge my colleagues to join me in 
cosponsoring S. 757, the Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act.
  It has long been believed that the environment plays some role in the 
development of breast cancer, but the extent of that role is not 
understood. Today, less than 30 percent of breast cancers are explained 
by known risk factors. There are studies exploring the effect of things 
like diet, pesticides, and electromagnetic fields on breast cancer 
incidence, but in most cases, these and many other environmental 
factors that are also suspected to play a role have not been fully 
investigated. We need a collaborative, comprehensive, national strategy 
to explore these issues.
  The Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act would create a uniquely 
targeted research plan, similar in design to the incredibly efficient 
Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program. 
This bill would authorize $30 million a year for 5 years for the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIEHS, to award 
grants to study the relationship between environmental factors and 
breast cancer. Under a competitive, peer-reviewed grantmaking process 
that involves patient advocates, the NIEHS Director would award grants 
for the development and operation of up to eight centers for the 
purpose of conducting multidisciplinary research. It would require 
collaboration with community organizations in the area, including those 
that represent women with breast cancer, as an integral component of 
the centers. Inherent in its structure would be the kind of efficiency, 
and public accountability that has made an overwhelming number of my 
colleagues, as well as scientists and consumers, so supportive of the 
Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.
  In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I urge my colleagues to 
join me and continue to fight the war on breast cancer, and invest in 
getting the answers to eradicating this disease.

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