Early Act Reauthorization of 2020
Floor Speech
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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4078) to reauthorize the Young Women's Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4078
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2020''. SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE YOUNG WOMEN'S BREAST HEALTH EDUCATION AND AWARENESS REQUIRES LEARNING YOUNG ACT OF 2009.
Section 399NN(h) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280m(h)) is amended by striking ``$4,900,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019'' and inserting ``$9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025''.
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Mr. PALLONE. 4078.
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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, tragically, one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer over their lifetime. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death in women. From 2013 to 2017, breast cancer death rates in older women declined. However, breast cancer death rates have remained steady in younger women.
We know that breast health education, awareness, and screening saves lives.
The bill we are considering today, H.R. 4078, the EARLY Act Reauthorization, reauthorizes initiatives at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to increase knowledge of breast cancer and risks of breast cancer among young women. This bill nearly doubles the investment Congress is making in this program, because we believe it is crucial that we stop losing young moms, daughters, sisters, and friends, to breast cancer.
This program is critically important, and I want to thank Representatives Wasserman Schultz and Brooks for their bipartisan leadership on this program.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4078, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the sponsor of the legislation.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I rise today to support my bill, the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act Reauthorization, or the EARLY Act.
I do want to start by thanking Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Walden, as well as my Republican co-lead, Congresswoman Susan Brooks. I deeply appreciate their advocacy and assistance shepherding this bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee. I also thank Senators Klobuchar and Crapo for sponsoring the Senate version of this important bipartisan reauthorization bill.
The EARLY Act, which I first introduced in 2009, became law in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act.
The inspiration for this bill was born from my own battle against breast cancer at the age of 41. That was 13 years ago. It is hard to believe.
I was a young woman at high risk, but I didn't know it. I was aware enough to know the right questions to ask and to understand the steps that were necessary in my treatment.
But many young women, Madam Speaker, are not aware that they possess genetic or other factors that expose them to higher risk of getting breast cancer. And when it strikes them, they and even their doctors are often unprepared to deal with this terrible diagnosis.
But knowledge is power, and it can also be lifesaving, too.
The earlier that breast cancer cases are identified, the better the chances are of survival. That is exactly why, after surviving 15 months of surgeries and treatment, I introduced the EARLY Act--in order to fill this major gap in our healthcare system.
We could not then and cannot now afford to be silent about these specific risks and how they impact certain communities, not when so many lives are on the line.
Breast cancer is a disease that knows no boundaries. It strikes women from all backgrounds, races and ethnicities, the rich and the poor, the old and the young. About one in eight women, as the ranking member and the chairman have said, will get breast cancer in their lifetime.
About 11 percent of all new cases of breast cancer in the United States are found in women younger than 45 years of age.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women under 40 and breast cancer in younger women tends to be more aggressive.
Each year, approximately 70,000 women age 15 to 39 are diagnosed with cancer in the United States. Breast cancer is the most common cancer for women in this age group.
Nearly 80 percent of young women diagnosed with breast cancer find their breast abnormality themselves.
Additionally, certain ethnic groups, including Ashkenazi Jews--my ethnic origin--and African-American young women have an increased risk of breast cancer. Black women are exposed to a greater risk because systemic racism has limited their access to preventive care.
I am proud that the bill before us today not only reauthorizes the program, but also increases the authorized funding level for breast cancer education and awareness programs.
The bill allows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue administering its crucial education and outreach campaign that highlights breast cancer risks facing young women, including campaigns specifically for African-American and Jewish women.
The EARLY Act is designed to help educate healthcare providers on the specific threats and warning signs of breast cancer in younger women. This education can often lead to early detection, diagnosis, and survival.
The bill also aids organizations that support young women diagnosed with breast cancer and, further, helps them overcome the unique challenges that we face, including dealing with the social and psychological stress that comes with a cancer diagnosis for far longer in our lifetimes.
The EARLY Act has already benefited women. Mortality rates from breast cancer have dropped in the past 10 years, in large part due to early detection.
After 10 years of successful implementation, it is now time to again reauthorize the EARLY Act and increase funding to ensure we can reach more young women and healthcare providers across the country.
At a time when people with preexisting conditions across the country are at greater risk, prevention and awareness can be the difference between life and death.
Not knowing can kill you.
Not being aware of the importance of paying attention to your breast health can be life ending and life altering.
As a public servant and a cancer survivor, it has become my life's mission to help women, especially younger women and women at higher risk, like I was without knowing it, to better advocate on behalf of themselves and their breast health.
Madam Speaker, I thank and encourage my colleagues to support this urgent and lifesaving legislation.
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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I yield back the balance of my time.
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