[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23199-23200]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as we pause to observe Breast Cancer 
Awareness Month, I would like to focus on the need to study the causes 
of this frightening disease, including the possible link between breast 
cancer and the environment.
  Women diagnosed with breast cancer inevitably all ask the same 
question: Why me?
  The unfortunate truth in all too many instances is, we don't know. 
Less than 30 percent of breast cancers are explained by known risk 
factors.
  We don't know if the environment plays a role in the development of 
breast cancer. Studies have explored the effect of isolated 
environmental factors such as diet, pesticides, and even 
electromagnetic fields. In most cases, the results have been 
inconclusive. Furthermore, there are many other factors that are 
suspected to play a role that have yet to be studied.
  We must find answers. While there is much we don't know, it is clear 
that a better understanding of the role the environment plays in the 
development of breast cancer could help to improve our understanding of 
the causes of breast cancer and could lead to prevention strategies.
  For several years now, I have worked to pass bipartisan legislation, 
The Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act, which would give 
scientists the tools they need to better understand any link between 
breast cancer and the environment. The Breast Cancer and Environmental 
Research Act would dedicate $30 million a year for 5 years for the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIEHS, to award 
grants to study the relationship between environmental factors and 
breast cancer. Under a competitive, peer-reviewed grant-making process 
that involves patient advocates, the NIEHS Director would award grants 
for the development and operation of up to eight centers for the 
purpose of conducting multi-disciplinary research.
  To date, there has been only a limited research investment to study 
the role of the environment in the development of breast cancer--but we 
are making progress. Over the past several years, I have worked with my 
colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee to include 
appropriations language that has allowed the NIEHS to award grants to 
four research centers to begin to study the prenatal-to-adult 
environmental exposures that may predispose a woman to breast cancer.
  This is a promising step in the right direction, but it is only a 
down payment on the task at hand. Moreover, the research strategy for 
these grants does not follow the nationally focused, collaborative, and 
comprehensive model as outlined in the Breast Cancer and Environmental 
Research Act.
  More research must be done to determine the impact of the environment 
on breast cancer. If we miss promising research opportunities because 
Congress has failed to act, millions of women and their families will 
face difficult questions about breast cancer . . . and we won't have 
the answers.
  These women and their families deserve answers. That's why we must 
work together to pass this bill, which enjoys broad bipartisan support. 
I urge my colleagues to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to 
support the quest for answers about this deadly disease by supporting 
the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today, as Breast Cancer Awareness 
Month comes to a close, to urge my colleagues to join me in 
cosponsoring S. 757, the Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act.
  It has long been believed that the environment plays some role in the 
development of breast cancer, but the extent of that role is not 
understood. Today, less than 30 percent of breast cancers are explained 
by known risk factors. There are studies exploring the effect of things 
like diet, pesticides, and electromagnetic fields on breast cancer 
incidence, but in most cases, these and many other environmental 
factors that are also suspected to play a role have not been fully 
investigated. We need a collaborative, comprehensive, national strategy 
to explore these issues.
  The Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act would create a uniquely 
targeted research plan, similar in design to the incredibly efficient 
Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program. 
This bill would authorize $30 million a year for 5 years for the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIEHS, to award 
grants to study the relationship between environmental factors and 
breast cancer. Under a competitive, peer-reviewed grantmaking process 
that involves patient advocates, the NIEHS Director would award grants 
for the development and operation of up to eight centers for the 
purpose of conducting multidisciplinary research. It would require 
collaboration with community organizations in the area, including those 
that represent women with breast cancer, as an integral component of 
the centers. Inherent in its structure would be the kind of efficiency, 
and public accountability that has made an overwhelming number of my 
colleagues, as well as scientists and consumers, so supportive of the 
Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.
  In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I urge my colleagues to 
join me and continue to fight the war on breast cancer, and invest in 
getting the answers to eradicating this disease.
  Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, I rise today in observance of National 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today, 3 million American women are 
living with this disease. In 2005, an additional 200,000 women are 
expected to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and over 40,000 
will die from this disease. While in recent years we have seen 
significant advances in breast cancer research, scientists are still 
researching many questions that remain unanswered regarding the causes 
and prevention of this disease.
  I am particularly concerned about the likely impact that 
environmental factors have in contributing to the prevalence of breast 
cancer. That is why I support the bipartisan Breast Cancer 
Environmental Research Act, S. 757, which would provide $30 million a 
year for 5 years for the development

[[Page 23200]]

and operation of multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary research 
centers to study environmental factors potentially linked to breast 
cancer. There is a clear need for research. We owe it to breast cancer 
survivors and victims to pass this legislation.
  Over the past several years, New Jersey has consistently ranked in 
the top 10 states in the Nation for breast cancer incidence and 
mortality. That is why I feel especially strongly about supporting 
further progress and future advancements in the fight against this 
awful disease that will only continue to cause suffering among American 
women if we fail to act.
  In addition to passing S. 757, we must also increase funding for the 
National Institutes of Health, NIH, the National Cancer Institute, NCI, 
and the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, all of which have played a 
major role in the development of improved treatment. Despite the 
critical role these agencies play in developing tools to fight and 
prevent cancer, the President and Republican-led Congress have 
significantly underfunded breast cancer initiatives at NIH, NCI, and 
CDC. We need to do more.
  We need a collaborative, comprehensive, national strategy to study 
the etiology of breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Environmental Research 
Act would accomplish this. I urge all of my colleagues to observe 
National Breast Cancer Awareness month by supporting this critical 
piece of legislation.

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