[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 172 (Monday, November 30, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8433-H8435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH STAMP REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2015
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 1170) 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, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1170
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Breast Cancer Research Stamp
Reauthorization Act of 2015''.
[[Page H8434]]
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF POSTAGE STAMP FOR BREAST CANCER
RESEARCH.
Section 414(h) of title 39, United States Code, is amended
by striking ``2015'' and inserting ``2019''.
SEC. 3. ENSURING THAT FUNDS GENERATED BY SPECIAL POSTAGE
STAMP SALES ARE USED FOR BREAST CANCER
RESEARCH.
Section 414(c)(1) of title 39, United States Code, is
amended in the matter following subparagraph (B) by adding at
the end the following: ``An agency that receives amounts from
the Postal Service under this paragraph shall use the amounts
for breast cancer research.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson
Coleman) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.
General Leave
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of S. 1170, the Breast Cancer Research Stamp
Reauthorization Act of 2015. It is sponsored primarily by Senator
Dianne Feinstein of California.
S. 1170 extends a requirement for the United States Postal Service to
produce and sell a specific semipostal stamp with the proceeds going to
fund breast cancer research.
Importantly, all of the funds collected must be used for breast
cancer research, and S. 1170 includes explicit language to ensure that
this is the case. Since the stamp was launched in 1998, it has raised
nearly $82 million for breast cancer research.
This money is sent to two research programs. The bulk of the money,
70 percent, goes to the National Institutes of Health, and the
remaining 30 percent goes to the medical research program at the
Department of Defense. We hold both of these organizations accountable
and should continue vigorous oversight of them.
Both the NIH and Department of Defense select specific programs and
proposals to receive funding and report on these programs each year.
The funds raised by this stamp have helped make meaningful advances in
the fight against breast cancer.
I urge Members to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in strong support of S. 1170, the Breast Cancer Research Stamp
Reauthorization Act of 2015. I thank Senator Feinstein of California
for her leadership on the legislation and her commitment to funding
breast cancer research. This is a very important bipartisan issue, and
25 Senators have joined Senator Feinstein in sponsoring this
legislation.
I also want to thank my colleague, Representative Speier, also from
California, for introducing the House companion bill, which has 59
cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.
I thank Chairman Chaffetz for bringing this bill to the floor and for
his support of this crucial legislation.
S. 1170 would extend the authority of the United States Postal
Service to issue the popular semipostal stamp that raises funds for
breast cancer research. Currently, Postal Service customers can choose
to buy a 60-cent breast cancer research stamp. The extra 11 cents above
the price of the regular first-class stamp minus the Postal Service's
administrative costs go to lifesaving research.
Since its first issuance in 1998, the Postal Service has sold almost
1 billion breast cancer research stamps, generating nearly $82 million
that has gone directly to the National Institutes of Health and the
Department of Defense to fund vital research.
In a 2014 report to Congress, the National Cancer Institute of the
NIH has concluded: Having this additional funding has furthered the
cancer research community's efforts to exploit increasing knowledge of
genetics and molecular biology to develop more effective and less toxic
treatments for breast cancer.
Research funding from this semipostal stamp is critical in the fight
against breast cancer, as one in eight women in the United States will
develop invasive breast cancer during her lifetime, according to the
American Cancer Society.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women
after lung cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that, in 2015,
about 40,000 women will die from this disease.
If we do not pass the measure before us today, the authorization for
the Postal Service to sell the breast cancer research stamp will expire
by the end of the year.
I, therefore, will urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
support S. 1170.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the
gentlewoman from California, Ms. Speier.
Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for joining in this
effort tonight. I would like to thank my colleague and coauthor of the
House version of this bill, H.R. 2191, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, for
her support and leadership on this issue. I want to also thank Senator
Dianne Feinstein and Senator Enzi. Senator Feinstein has supported this
legislation. She was actually the original author of the legislation
back in 1997.
{time} 1915
Breast cancer, there is probably not one person in this room who
hasn't been touched by breast cancer either themselves, through a
family member, or through a friend.
Our courageous colleagues, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz,
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Senator Heidi Heitkamp, and spouses
of many Members have all been impacted. My mother survived breast
cancer. One of my best friends did not. My health legislative assistant
who worked on this legislation lost her mother to breast cancer. She
was only 13 years of age when her mother died.
This is an important bill. What is most important about it is the
fact that we have made some progress. But still, one in eight women
will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. It is still the second
leading cause of death for women in this country.
What is really important about this legislation is the genesis of
this legislation. It is an all-American story. It reminds me of the
quote by Margaret Mead:
``Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.''
In this case, there is the story of an immigrant who came to this
country, got educated here, and became a doctor at 26. He became a
breast cancer surgeon in Sacramento, California. His name is Dr. Ernie
Bodai. He was concerned and frustrated by the slow pace of breast
cancer research and all the surgeries he found himself doing over and
over again.
So what did this breast cancer surgeon do? He came to Congress. He
made 15 trips to Congress. He spent over $100,000 of his personal money
to convince Congress to pass a bill authorizing a breast cancer stamp.
In so doing, he was able to generate over, as we have heard already
tonight, $80 million. In fact, we are coming close to having sold
almost a million stamps in this country for breast cancer research.
One man had a vision. He came to Congress. It took him over 2 years
to convince us to do it, but we did it. It is time now to reauthorize
the legislation, and I am hopeful that we will do it, because it has in
fact shown to be very effective. In fact, it has been used in finding
genes that are protective against breast cancer, linking treatment
outcomes with certain genes, and identifying women with a low risk of
recurrence who can be spared chemotherapy.
So, my colleagues, this is an important bill to reauthorize. The
deadline is, as we have been told, fast approaching. Let's continue the
search for a cure. Let's be part of that search by buying breast cancer
stamps and by reauthorizing the bill.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis).
[[Page H8435]]
Mrs. LUMMIS. I thank the gentleman from Utah, and I want to thank him
for bringing this bill to the floor. I also want to thank the majority
leader, Kevin McCarthy, for bringing this bill to the floor tonight so
we can see this authorization through before the end of this calendar
year.
I am proud to join my friend, Jackie Speier, my colleague from
California, and other House colleagues, as well as Senator Dianne
Feinstein and my Senator and dear friend, Mike Enzi from Wyoming, in
passing this reauthorization bill.
The stamp says, ``Fund the Fight. Find a Cure.'' That is why we are
here tonight. This is a budget-neutral way to fund critical research to
treat and, hopefully, one day cure this disease.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in proud support of the Breast Cancer
Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2015. To have over $80 million
raised since 1998 from this stamp for breast cancer research and have
it be budget-neutral is a wonderful way to acknowledge the importance
of what we can do as private citizens once the government authorizes
and empowers us to fund research through something we would buy every
day anyway, and that is stamps.
So, once again, it is so important that we continue to support this
funding of medical research and doing it in a fiscally responsible way
that could save hundreds of lives. Who knows; maybe that one little
book of stamps that you buy that helps fund breast cancer research will
be the one that finds the cure.
Fund the fight. Find a cure.
Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank my colleague, Jackie Speier; the
committee chairman, Jason Chaffetz; the majority leader, Kevin
McCarthy; and everyone who has cosponsored this bill, worked on this
bill, brought it through the Senate, and brings it to the attention of
the House of Representatives tonight.
We can fund the fight. We can find a cure. And tonight, this is the
best way to move forward with that goal in mind.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to thank all those involved because, as was noted earlier,
every life in this building and across this country and across the
world has been touched by breast cancer. I lost my mom to breast
cancer. I lost my dad to cancer as well--colon cancer.
This is a program that seems to work. It has been in place since
before the year 2000. The numbers are quite startling. Instead of
paying 49 cents for a stamp, you pay 60 cents. And that money,
accumulated over time, has generated tens of millions of dollars. It is
something that is worthwhile.
I appreciate Mr. McCarthy and his passion for this issue. I
appreciate Mrs. Lummis and her desire to tackle this. I also appreciate
what Ms. Speier and Mrs. Watson Coleman have added to this discussion
and their passion on tackling this issue. It truly transcends
everything we do. It touches every life, and it is something we must
win and we must overcome. This happens to be one of those government
programs that actually works.
And so we are suggesting to our colleagues that we vote ``aye'' and
support this and allow it to continue. It is one of the good things we
do.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support
of S. 1170, the ``Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of
2015.''
I would like to recognize Senator Feinstein for her commendable
leadership in fighting for greater awareness of breast cancer and
finding cures and treatment through breast cancer research.
This is a simple yet incredibly power piece of legislation.
S. 1170 will reauthorize through December 31, 2019, the Breast Cancer
Research Stamp, which will require the U.S. Postal Service to issue a
special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs more than the
regular first-class stamp in order to raise funds for breast cancer
research.
Importantly, agencies receiving these funds from the Postal Service
must use them on breast cancer research.
Breast cancer accounts for 1 in 4 cancer diagnoses among women in
this country.
This is an astonishing statistic that cannot be overstated--it must
be stopped.
Breast cancer is also the most commonly diagnosed cancer among
African American women.
As an African American woman and I am a breast cancer survivor and I
know these statistics all too well.
As a Member of Congress, a mother, grandmother, sister and wife, it
is my responsibility and duty to fight to insure that every American
can win in the fight against cancer.
I understand first-hand how important proper and adequate funding is
to defeat breast cancer.
As a proud cancer survivor, I am also proud to have secured adoption
of an amendment to the FY 2014 Defense Appropriation Act that increased
funding for breast cancer research by $10 million.
We must continue to raise funds for research in order to ensure that
the women of our nation no longer have to suffer.
This bill will ensure that additional funds will be used towards
life-saving research to protect all of our grandmothers, mothers,
daughters, sisters, aunts and love ones.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, S. 1170.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________