[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5417]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  PASS H.R. 1070 BY THIS MOTHER'S DAY

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, despite education on preventive 
measures and early detection, the rate of cancer among women has 
continued to increase at an alarming rate. Every 64 minutes a woman is 
diagnosed with reproductive tract cancer. And just today, one in eight 
women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
  Our colleague, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick), 
shared with us how she is among the fortunate who can afford life-
saving treatment after her diagnosis.
  We have encouraged low-income mothers and daughters to have mammogram 
screenings and early detection measures. But when these medical tests 
show an unfavorable diagnosis, who is there to ensure that they receive 
the life-saving treatment they so desperately need?
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation's low-income women living with breast cancer 
cannot wait any longer. H.R. 1070 gives the States an optional Medicaid 
benefit to provide treatment to low-income women screened and diagnosed 
with breast or cervical cancer through the CDC early detection program.
  Mother's Day is May 14, and the most valuable gift that Congress can 
give American women is a fighting chance at beating cancer. I hope that 
my colleagues will work for passage of H.R. 1070 by this Mother's Day.

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