Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025
Floor Speech
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Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2319) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a review to evaluate the status of research on lung cancer in women and underserved populations, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2319
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 ``Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY REVIEW TO EVALUATE AND IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ACCELERATION OF RESEARCH ON LUNG CANCER IN WOMEN AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, GREATER ACCESS TO PREVENTIVE SERVICES, AND STRATEGIC PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall conduct an interagency review to evaluate the status of, and identify opportunities for the acceleration of research related to--
(1) research on lung cancer in women;
(2) research on lung cancer in underserved populations that meet the eligibility criteria for lung cancer screening as recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force;
(3) access to lung cancer preventive services; and
(4) strategic public awareness and education campaigns on lung cancer.
(b) Content.--The review and recommendations under subsection (a) shall include--
(1) a review and comprehensive report on the outcomes of previous research, the status of existing research activities, and knowledge gaps related to lung cancer in women and underserved populations in all agencies of the Federal Government;
(2) opportunities for collaborative, interagency, multidisciplinary, and innovative research, that would--
(A) encourage innovative approaches to eliminate knowledge gaps in research on lung cancer in women;
(B) evaluate environmental and genomic factors that may be related to the etiology of lung cancer in women; and
(C) foster advances in imaging technology and techniques to improve risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and the simultaneous utilization of other preventive services and activities;
(3) opportunities regarding the development of a national lung cancer screening strategy to expand access to such screenings, particularly among women and underserved populations; and
(4) opportunities regarding the development of a national public education and awareness campaign on--
(A) lung cancer in women and underserved populations; and
(B) the importance of early detection of lung cancer.
(c) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to Congress a report on the review conducted under subsection (a).
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Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2319, the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025 led by my colleague Representative Brendan F. Boyle.
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States, and it claims the lives of more Americans than any other type of cancer.
Globally, over 600,000 women die every year from lung cancer, and we know that nearly 20 percent of lung cancers occur in individuals who have either never smoked or smoked less than 100 cigarettes over their lifetime.
These findings demonstrate that we need to be doing more to understand the risk factors beyond just smoking cigarettes and improve both our strategies and tools for screening, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, especially among women who face unique risk factors.
H.R. 2319 would allow us to strengthen and advance emerging research opportunities that we rely on to reduce the burden of lung cancer mortality.
Further, this bipartisan bill requires an interagency review between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Departments of War and Veterans Affairs to determine the current research landscape in identifying new areas of research to explore.
H.R. 2319 is an opportunity to take another critical step in our fight against cancer in the United States.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).
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Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close.
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Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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