[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 16, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                BREAST CANCER ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH ACT

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                           HON. VITO FOSSELLA

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 16, 2007

  Mr. FOSSELLA. Madam Speaker, as we return from Mother's Day weekend, 
I would like to take this opportunity to express my support for H.R. 
1157, the Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act, and urge my 
colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation.
  This weekend we honored our mothers and grandmothers and the immense 
contributions they have made in our lives. As we celebrate these women, 
we should also take the opportunity to renew our focus and efforts on 
an issue that affects far too many women in the United States: breast 
cancer.
  There are more than three million women currently living with breast 
cancer, and each year tens of thousands of women die from the disease. 
While we have made important progress in treatments and research, we 
still do not know what causes breast cancer or how to prevent it. And 
the alarming nature of these uncertainties is compounded by the fact 
breast cancer rates are on the rise. A woman in the United States has a 
1 in 7 chance of developing invasive breast cancer in her lifetime--
this risk was only 1 in 11 in 1975.
  While it is generally believed the environment plays some role in the 
development of breast cancer, scientific evidence about the extent of 
its role is minimal. Studies have explored the effect of isolated 
environmental factors such as diet, pesticides and electromagnetic 
fields, but in most cases there is no conclusive evidence, and they 
cannot be translated into real ways in which women can better protect 
themselves.
  The Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act will create a 
competitive, peer-reviewed research program at the National Institutes 
of Health to study the potential links between breast cancer and the 
environment. Less than 30 percent of breast cancers are explained by 
known risk factors, and there are many understudied factors suspected 
to play a role that could be valuable in understanding the causes of 
breast cancer. H.R. 1157 will start a collaborative, comprehensive and 
national strategy to study these issues.
  I proudly stand in support of the Breast Cancer Environmental 
Research Act. I hope you will join me in cosponsoring this important, 
bipartisan investment in breast cancer research.

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