[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 21, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3020-H3021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN AND LUNG CANCER RESEARCH AND PREVENTIVE SERVICES ACT OF 2025
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 2319) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to conduct a review to evaluate the status of research on lung
cancer in women and underserved populations, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2319
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 ``Women and Lung Cancer
Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY REVIEW TO EVALUATE AND IDENTIFY
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ACCELERATION OF RESEARCH
ON LUNG CANCER IN WOMEN AND UNDERSERVED
POPULATIONS, GREATER ACCESS TO PREVENTIVE
SERVICES, AND STRATEGIC PUBLIC AWARENESS AND
EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall conduct an
interagency review to evaluate the status of, and identify
opportunities for the acceleration of research related to--
(1) research on lung cancer in women;
(2) research on lung cancer in underserved populations that
meet the eligibility criteria for lung cancer screening as
recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task
Force;
(3) access to lung cancer preventive services; and
(4) strategic public awareness and education campaigns on
lung cancer.
(b) Content.--The review and recommendations under
subsection (a) shall include--
(1) a review and comprehensive report on the outcomes of
previous research, the status of existing research
activities, and knowledge gaps related to lung cancer in
women and underserved populations in all agencies of the
Federal Government;
(2) opportunities for collaborative, interagency,
multidisciplinary, and innovative research, that would--
(A) encourage innovative approaches to eliminate knowledge
gaps in research on lung cancer in women;
(B) evaluate environmental and genomic factors that may be
related to the etiology of lung cancer in women; and
(C) foster advances in imaging technology and techniques to
improve risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and the
simultaneous utilization of other preventive services and
activities;
(3) opportunities regarding the development of a national
lung cancer screening strategy to expand access to such
screenings, particularly among women and underserved
populations; and
(4) opportunities regarding the development of a national
public education and awareness campaign on--
(A) lung cancer in women and underserved populations; and
(B) the importance of early detection of lung cancer.
(c) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall submit to Congress a report on the review
conducted under subsection (a).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Pallone) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Tennessee.
General Leave
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2319, the Women and Lung
Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025 led by my colleague
Representative Brendan F. Boyle.
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States, and
it claims the lives of more Americans than any other type of cancer.
Globally, over 600,000 women die every year from lung cancer, and we
know that nearly 20 percent of lung cancers occur in individuals who
have either never smoked or smoked less than 100 cigarettes over their
lifetime.
These findings demonstrate that we need to be doing more to
understand the risk factors beyond just smoking cigarettes and improve
both our strategies and tools for screening, diagnosis, treatment, and
prevention, especially among women who face unique risk factors.
H.R. 2319 would allow us to strengthen and advance emerging research
opportunities that we rely on to reduce the burden of lung cancer
mortality.
Further, this bipartisan bill requires an interagency review between
the Department of Health and Human Services and the Departments of War
and Veterans Affairs to determine the current research landscape in
identifying new areas of research to explore.
H.R. 2319 is an opportunity to take another critical step in our
fight against cancer in the United States.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2319, the Women and Lung
Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025.
I want to begin by commending my colleague, Representative Brendan F.
Boyle, for his tireless leadership on this critical issue.
Every 9 minutes, a woman loses her life to lung cancer. In the time
it will take the House to consider this bill, more mothers, daughters,
sisters, and friends will be lost. This legislation is a meaningful
step in addressing the disproportionate impact of lung cancer on women.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women
in the United States. It kills more people each year than breast
cancer, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer combined.
Despite historically lower smoking rates than men, women are
estimated to make up over half of all new lung cancer cases and nearly
half of all deaths.
In the United States, we are seeing a concerning trend among young
and middle-aged women who are being diagnosed with lung cancer. Even
more striking, lung cancer disproportionately strikes women who have
never smoked.
Approximately two-thirds of never-smokers who have been diagnosed
with lung cancer are women. A clear understanding of the existing
research and innovative opportunities to reduce lung cancer mortality,
particularly among women in underserved populations, is needed.
This legislation directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
working in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, to conduct a comprehensive interagency review of
lung cancer in women and in underserved populations.
This legislation will help us take steps toward answering key
questions our researchers need to answer. We need to know what
environmental and genomic factors contribute to lung cancer in women.
We need to know where the gaps are in our existing research. We need to
know how we expand access to early detection and screening, which we
know saves lives. And we need to know how we mount a
[[Page H3021]]
public awareness campaign to better inform the public and providers.
So for all these reasons, I urge my colleagues to once again support
this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume
to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of
H.R. 2319, the Women and Lung Cancer Research Preventive Services Act.
Lung cancer is the leading cancer death among women, and it
disproportionately impacts women who have never even smoked.
This bipartisan bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans
Affairs, to conduct an interagency review of current research on women
and lung cancer.
{time} 1420
Madam Speaker, this bill addresses the disparities women with lung
cancer face, and it addresses it head-on, strengthening research,
access to preventative services, and raising awareness. This is a
significant step in addressing a disease that has left far too many
women in my community and across the country vulnerable.
The unique impact of lung cancer on women requires an investment in
strengthening research and access to preventative care. I look forward
to continuing to work across the aisle to ensure that real progress is
delivered, that this bill makes it across the finish line, and that
women and families impacted by this devastating disease finally get the
help that they need.
I also thank my friend and fellow Pennsylvanian Brendan Boyle for his
partnership and leadership on this very, very important policy, and all
my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee for working to
advance this critical bill to save lives.
Finally, I thank the tireless advocates who have championed this
legislation for years and who have been working to address this
disparity in cancer research and care.
Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 2319.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Boyle) who is the ranking member of the House Budget
Committee.
Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong
support of my legislation, H.R. 2319, the Women and Lung Cancer
Research and Preventive Services Act. This is a bipartisan, commonsense
bill that takes on a serious and too often overlooked public health
disparity.
The legislation would require the Secretary of HHS, in consultation
with the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs, to conduct an
interagency review of research on women and lung cancer, including
access to preventive services.
It would also strengthen interagency coordination on public awareness
efforts so more women have the information they need to understand
their risk, seek early detection, and get care sooner. This matters
because while smoking rates, fortunately, have declined in the United
States and overall lung cancer rates have fallen, one troubling
disparity remains. Women who have never smoked are still more likely to
develop lung cancer than men who have never smoked. Research has
continued to point to that gap, and it deserves far more attention than
it gets today.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 120,000 women in the
U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2026. That is
roughly 170 women every day who will die as a result of this. That is
roughly one woman in 8\1/2\ minutes. Approximately 62,000 women will
die each year from this disease.
As my colleague and good friend and partner in this, Congressman
Brian Fitzpatrick, mentioned, lung cancer remains the leading cause of
cancer death among women in the United States, so these numbers should
get our attention.
This bill is about doing something constructive. It is about
improving research, strengthening prevention, expanding awareness, and
helping ensure women have better access to the services that can
support earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Simply put, earlier detection saves lives. Better information saves
lives, and more attention to this disparity can save lives.
Despite progress in prevention and treatment, declines in lung cancer
incidence have continued to move faster for men than for women. The
reality is the scientific community still does not know why, so this
tells us, frankly, we have plenty of work to do.
Madam Speaker, I want to tell you something that is personal. I have
been working on this issue for 8 years now, ever since our late
colleague who passed away 2 years ago, Rick Nolan, asked me to take
this up just in the back there in the Members Cloakroom as he was
leaving the Congress in December of 2018. He had shared with me the
struggles that at the time his daughter was going through. Rick's
daughter, Katherine Benson, courageously battled stage IV non-small
cell lung cancer until her passing in 2020 at only 46 years old. She
courageously fought this awful form of cancer for about 5 years.
Rick's legacy and Katherine's legacy lives on in this fight and in
the determination to spare other families the same heartbreak.
In addition to thanking my friend and colleague, Brian Fitzpatrick,
whom I mentioned previously and who has been a great Republican partner
and co-lead with me in this effort, I also thank Chairman Guthrie and
Ranking Member Pallone for their support as well as all of the members
of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
At the end of the day, this bill does something very simple and
important. It focuses attention on a deadly disparity that has gone
overlooked for far too long, and it pushes the Federal Government to
respond with the seriousness this issue demands.
Madam Speaker, this is a thoughtful, bipartisan proposal that can
save lives, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2319.
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close. I urge a
``yes'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, in closing, I just want to say that this
is a very important piece of legislation. It is obviously bipartisan.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2319.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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