Cytology Proficiency Improvement Act of 2008

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BUCHANAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1237, the Cytology Proficiency Improvement Act of 2007. I am a cosponsor of this important legislation, which enhances women's health by establishing a continuing medical education requirement for pathologists and laboratory professionals who examine Pap tests to screen for cervical cancer.

I recently toured Sarasota Pathology and heard directly from my constituents about the importance of this bill and its potential to help save lives.

This legislation amends the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments of 1988, CLIA, which mandated a cytology proficiency test to be administered by the Federal Government. However, the program lay inactive until 2005, which, because of scientific advancements makes the test obsolete and out of date.

Unlike the current CLIA testing model, H.R. 1237, with its annual continuing medical education requirement, will provide the means to increase the skills necessary to identify potential cervical cancer, and will keep pace with new science.

H.R. 1237 is modeled after the Mammography Quality Standards Act, MQSA, which was passed in 1992. That bill ensured women would have access to quality mammography procedures. This bill requires similar educational testing for pathologists.

The American Medical Association, the College of OBGYNs, the College of American Pathologists, the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the College of Nurse Midwifes, and the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation endorse the bill.

Finally, I want to mention that the Congressional Budget Office has determined that it will not cost the Federal Government any additional expenditure.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join with me in support of a bill that will greatly improve the quality of women's health care in America.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source