[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 78 (Friday, May 11, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1028-E1029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          BREAST CANCER AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2007

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my 
strong support for H.R. 1157, and, in doing so, to honor my mother and 
all the women in my life. With Mother's Day approaching on Sunday, May 
13, I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this legislation, 
the Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act as a tribute to each of 
our mothers. This bill would invest in the research still necessary to 
determine the potential links between breast cancer and the 
environment, so that we can cure it and eventually eradicate this 
terrible disease.
  Currently, despite the efforts of numerous researchers, less than 30 
percent of breast

[[Page E1029]]

cancers are explained by known risk factors. Though studies have 
explored the effect of isolated environmental factors, including diet, 
pesticides, and electromagnetic fields, there is little conclusive 
evidence or consensus in the scientific community on how the 
environment impacts breast cancer. Scientists have also proposed a 
number of other potential factors which have yet to be formally 
studied.
  Though many experts accept that the environment plays some role in 
the development of breast cancer, the extent of that role has not been 
determined. More research is needed to determine the precise impact of 
the environment on this disease. This bill authorizes a research 
program at the National Institutes of Health to do just this.
  Madam Speaker, I am extremely proud to stand as one of well over 150 
cosponsors of this bipartisan legislation. Because we don't know what 
causes breast cancer, or how to prevent it, as our Nation's leaders we 
have a duty to the American public to support legislation that will aid 
in the fight to understand and combat this devastating disease. I thank 
all of my colleagues who have already signed on to this bill, and I 
urge those who have not to, in honor of Mother's Day, join me in 
addressing this vital women's health concern.

                          ____________________