[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24910]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today not as the chairman of the House 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence but as a representative of 
thousands of men and women concerned about the tragedy of breast 
cancer. I also rise as someone who has seen family members and friends 
deal with this terrible disease. Congress passed a good bill a few 
weeks ago, one that will ensure that the poorest Americans will receive 
needed help in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Next 
stop, the Rose Garden to commend everyone who worked to make this a 
reality, Republican and Democrat alike. But now we learn there will be 
no Rose Garden signing ceremony, and the advocates and volunteers who 
fought for this bill will not get their deserved celebration and 
recognition in the sun.
  Why? Because the President has decided that it would be ``awkward'' 
to host and recognize at the White House the bill's sponsor, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio), who happens to be running against 
his wife for the Senate seat in New York.
  I took the President at his word in February when he said that breast 
cancer is an issue that, quote, ``transcends political boundaries.'' It 
does. Like so many times before with the Clinton-Gore administration, I 
believed them. That was a mistake.

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