[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 20346]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Baca) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, this month is National Breast Cancer Awareness 
Month. This month is devoted to increasing the awareness of breast 
cancer and to promote a nationwide education effort for the love of 
life.
  Breast cancer is a tragedy that we must fight to eliminate. A pink 
ribbon that I am wearing and many other individuals will be wearing 
this month means more than awareness. It stands for the love of your 
wife, your sister, your mother, your grandmother, your daughter, and 
your colleagues.
  We must do everything to stop this disease. About 182,000 new cases 
of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year 
alone, not to mention how many currently have breast cancer now or how 
many have died because of breast cancer.
  Breast cancer prevention and treatment is an issue fought in the 
State legislature. It is one that I fought and I carried the 
legislation for the breast cancer stamp, the license plate for 
treatment and prevention. We must raise the awareness that the best 
protection is early detection and action.
  There are measures women and their doctors can take to catch this 
disease early, including clinical exam, self-examination, and 
mammograms. During this month, I encourage all Members to spread the 
message about the importance of prevention and treatment. I encourage 
the Members to speak to their friends, co-workers, their families, and 
their communities. Some of the locations that we can speak at are 
hospitals, mammography centers, the health centers, and breast cancer 
awareness presentations.
  This week I spoke at Loma Linda on behalf of a nonprofit organization 
named the Candlelight Research for Children that received treatment for 
cancer. And just this last week alone I spoke at Fontana Kaiser 
Permanente where they actually had the pink ribbon highlighted at the 
hospital for many individuals to see.
  Congress should continue to support legislation such as H.R. 4386, 
the Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act. This bill, 
supported by a bipartisan majority of Congress, would provide the 
treatment to low-income women who currently receive screening under the 
Federal program.
  We should also support legislation pending in Congress to extend the 
Federal breast cancer stamp which would fund breast cancer research. We 
must also fund Federal agency research efforts, such as the Department 
of Defense peer-reviewed breast cancer research program.
  We must not stop. We must not quit. We must continue to fight. This 
is an important national priority. We need to encourage everyone to be 
aware of this issue and encourage them to pass information on to those 
that they love. It just might save their life or the life of someone 
they love.
  To touch a life is to save a life.




                          ____________________