[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 119 (Thursday, September 21, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9906-S9907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 578--RECOGNIZING THAT THE OCCURRENCE OF PROSTATE 
  CANCER IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN HAS REACHED EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS AND 
 URGING FEDERAL AGENCIES TO ADDRESS THAT HEALTH CRISIS BY DESIGNATING 
  FUNDS FOR EDUCATION, AWARENESS OUTREACH, AND RESEARCH SPECIFICALLY 
        FOCUSED ON HOW THAT DISEASE AFFECTS AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN

  Mr. KERRY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 578

       Whereas the incidence of prostate cancer in African 
     American men is 60 percent higher than any other racial or 
     ethnic group in the United States;
       Whereas African American men have the highest mortality 
     rate of any ethnic and racial group in the United States, 
     dying at a rate that is 140 percent higher than other ethnic 
     and racial groups;
       Whereas that rate of mortality represents the largest 
     disparity of mortality rates in any of the major cancers;
       Whereas prostate cancer can be cured with early detection 
     and the proper treatment, regardless of the ethnic or racial 
     group of the cancer patient;
       Whereas African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed 
     earlier in age and at a

[[Page S9907]]

     later stage of cancer progression than for all other ethnic 
     and racial groups, thereby leading to lower cure rates and 
     lower chances of survival; and
       Whereas, according to a recent paper published in the 
     Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers 
     from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical 
     School have discovered a variant of a small segment of the 
     human genome that accounts for the higher risk of prostate 
     cancer in African American men: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes that prostate cancer has created a health 
     crisis for African American men; and
       (2) declares the critical importance of the designation of 
     increased funding for--
       (A) research to address and attempt to end the health 
     crisis created by prostate cancer; and
       (B) efforts relating to education, awareness, and early 
     detection at the grassroots levels to end that health crisis.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today, I am joining Congressman Greg Meeks 
to submit a Senate resolution aimed at raising awareness of the 
prostate cancer crisis among African-American men. This Resolution 
urges Congress to provide the funds necessary to prevent and fight the 
disease, and to encourage African-American men to get screened.
  Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death 
for African-American men. They have the highest incidence and mortality 
rate due to prostate cancer of any ethnic or racial group. African-
American men are dying at a rate of 140 percent--almost 2\1/2\ times--
higher than other groups. That is the largest disparity for any major 
cancer.
  No person of any race should have to suffer unnecessarily from a 
disease we have the medical science and moral obligation to prevent, 
detect, and treat. It should no longer rob sons, daughters, and wives 
of their fathers, husbands, and loved ones. Just as the doctrine of 
`separate but equal,' was wrong in education, it is wrong in health 
care. We have to reform the system so that the quality of health care 
for every American never depends on the color of any American's skin. 
We need to fund more research and greater outreach efforts. For this 
reason, I urge every member of Congress to support this resolution.

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