[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 166 (Tuesday, October 30, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H12195-H12196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MAKING PERMANENT THE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP TO
SUPPORT BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1236) to make permanent the authority of the United States Postal
Service to issue a special postage stamp to support breast cancer
research, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1236
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.
Section 414(h) of title 39, United States Code, is amended
by striking ``2007'' and inserting ``2011''.
SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
The National Institutes of Health and the Department of
Defense shall each submit to Congress and the Government
Accountability Office an annual report concerning the use of
any amounts that it received under section 414(c) of title
39, United States Code, including a description of any
significant advances or accomplishments, during the year
covered by the report, that were funded, in whole or in part,
with such amounts.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Clay) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, as a sponsor of H.R. 1236, the bill would make
permanent the breast cancer research stamp, which first went on sale on
July 29, 1998.
After several discussions with the Postal Service, I offered an
amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1236 during the
Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of
Columbia markup on September 18, 2007.
The amendment retained the Postal Service's flexibility by
reauthorizing the breast cancer stamp for an additional 4 years and
strengthens the bill's reporting requirements. The new reporting
requirements would assess the breast cancer stamp's effectiveness and
appropriateness and the cost to the Postal Service for administering
the program to find a cure for breast cancer.
The amendment was agreed to by voice vote. H.R. 1236, as amended, was
reported from the Oversight Committee on September 20, 2007, by a voice
vote.
In America, breast cancer is reported as the second leading cause of
cancer deaths among women after lung cancer. The American Cancer
Society estimated 178,480 women will be diagnosed this year with
invasive breast cancer. In the U.S., approximately 40,000 will die.
The Postal Service has sold over 785.6 million breast cancer research
stamps from which $54.626 million have been transferred to the National
Institutes of Health and DOD for breast cancer research and awareness.
I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 1236 and urge the swift
passage of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
First of all, I want to commend my good friend, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Clay), for his remarks and his work on this legislation.
I rise today to urge passage of H.R. 1236, to extend the authority of
the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp to support breast cancer
research.
Those of us in Congress received a tragic reminder of the need for
continued research into this disease with the passing of our beloved
colleague, Jo Ann Davis; and we thank the majority, in particular Mr.
Clay, for taking the opportunity to honor her memory.
[[Page H12196]]
Nearly 180,000 people, mostly, but not all, women, will learn that
they have invasive breast cancer this year alone. About 40,000 people
will die from this disease. Women who are white and over the age of 40
are more likely to suffer from breast cancer, but its victims run the
gamut of age, race and socioeconomic background. We have made some
progress in recent years thanks to early detection and increased
awareness and availability of mammograms.
But in the past 3 years, both mammograms and incidence of breast
cancer have decreased. This doesn't mean things are getting better. It
means ominously and unfortunately that fewer cases are being detected.
As I am sure Jo Ann Davis would tell us if she were still with us
here today, early detection, early treatment, constant vigilance and
public awareness are key to putting this disease in its place. For
example, incidence rates of both invasive and in-situ breast cancer
rise and fall with the percentage of women who receive mammograms.
After two decades of progress, both the use of mammograms and the
rates of detection have begun to slip in recent years. As early
detection increased, so did survival rates; but they will fall, too, if
we can't improve public awareness of the importance of early detection.
That's where the measure that is before us comes in. This bill would
reauthorize the Postal Service to issue the 55-cent stamp for first
class mail, with 14 cents of each stamp going to breast cancer research
and awareness programs for an additional 4 years. Since the program
began in 1998, the Postal Service has sold more than 785 million of
these stamps and raised $54.6 million for breast cancer research.
This disease preys on women such as Jo Ann Davis and on so many
others, women on whom others have come to depend. They are mothers,
grandmothers, business owners, teachers, researchers, even Members of
this great body. We need these women and the invaluable contributions
they make to our life and society. We need this measure to help save
their lives.
I have had the privilege of attending every single Race for the Cure
for the past 11 years, every single one that has been held in my
hometown of Knoxville.
{time} 1500
This is a very worthwhile cause that I am sure all of our colleagues
on both sides of the aisle can support very enthusiastically.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr.
Duncan), my friend, who is certainly committed to this cause and who
has joined with me in what I think is a worthwhile cause for the people
of this country.
I also want to dedicate H.R. 1236 in memory of the late Congresswoman
Jo Ann Davis. Jo Ann's courageous battle with breast cancer further
inspires us to expand efforts to secure more research dollars and find
a cure for this devastating disease.
I commend everyone who has championed this issue in Congress,
including former Representative Vic Fazio for introducing the first
Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act in 1996, and Senator Dianne Feinstein,
Representative Joe Baca and the late Juanita Millender McDonald who
pioneered the idea of a permanent breast cancer stamp, research stamp
in 2001. And I ask my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 1236.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I urge
passage of this legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I urge my
colleagues to vote in favor of this worthwhile effort.
I yield back my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Salazar). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1236, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read: ``A Bill to amend title 39,
United States Code, to extend the authority of the United States Postal
Service to issue a semipostal to raise funds for breast cancer
research.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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