[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15653]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        MEDICAL RECORDS PRIVACY

  (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, Americans are growing increasingly aware 
that the most intimate information they possess about themselves, their 
health information, is not only unprotected, but freely shared among 
corporate and other interests.
  I am particularly concerned about the security of genetic 
information. With the recent completion of the rough draft of the human 
genome, increasing numbers of people will consider taking genetic tests 
to learn more about their future health. But unless we protect the 
privacy of this information, people will refuse to take the genetic 
tests or even to participate in the research. We then risk having 
billions of dollars spent on genetic research go to waste and the 
enormous promise of this research to go unfulfilled.
  Right now, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee 
is holding a hearing on genetic discrimination in employment. 
Shamefully, the House of Representatives has never held a single 
hearing on genetic discrimination, and we cannot afford to waste any 
more time.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 2457, the Genetic 
Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act, and please 
sign discharge petition No. 11 to bring this bill to the House floor 
for a vote immediately.

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