Veterans Prescription Access Improvement Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 37, Senator Feinstein's companion bill to my H.R. 312. This bill authorities the Breast Cancer Research Stamp through 2007. Without this legislation, this successful program would end this year.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As it comes to a close it is important to reflect on what is being done in the way of prevention and treatment of breast cancer.

Senator Feinstein and I have proposed to extend the deadline of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp, so that it will be available for purchase for two more years.

Senator Feinstein and I have been collaborating to bring awareness to this ever-present disease and to help doctors and scientists fighting against it. I want to thank her for her unwavering dedication.

I also want to thank Dr. Ernie Bodhai, who developed the idea of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp and who has brought national awareness to the measure.

Dr. Bodhai inspired me to help support the Breast Cancer Research Stamp back when I served in the California State Assembly.

Senator Feinstein and I introduced this bill for one reason: to save lives.

We have worked together to pass this important bill so researchers can gain more insight on the disease and in turn, prevent tragedies.

This year more than 200,000 women and men will be diagnosed with breast cancer. More than 40,000 Americans will die from the disease this year.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in every major ethnic group in the United States.

It does not discriminate. Whether you are white, black, Hispanic or whatever your race or ethnicity. Everyone is at risk.

More than two million women are living with breast cancer in America today, yet one million of them have not been diagnosed.

Breast cancer is a leading killer of American women. The disease claims another woman's life every 13 minutes in the United States.

That is why it is so important to increase funding for breast cancer research--and why we must continue sales of the stamp.

The Breast Cancer Research Stamp is among the most successful commemorative stamps of all time with 637 million stamps sold.

The stamp program has generated over 47 million dollars for breast cancer research. It has been a critical ally in generating the resources necessary to wage war on this terrible disease.

The stamp is a ``semi-postal'' stamp that can be voluntarily purchased by the public for 45 cents.

For each stamp sold, 8 cents goes to the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.

Working with Dr. Bodhai, Senator Feinstein introduced the Breast Cancer Research Stamp bill In 1998 to help support the fight against breast cancer.

I am proud that Californians continue to lead the way in stamp purchases, providing roughly 21 percent of the money raised nationwide.

I ask my colleagues to support the Breast Cancer Research Stamp and all the women and men who will benefit from the money the stamp raises.

Senator Feinstein and I have the support of 153 Members of Congress and 69 Senators who cosponsored the bills and of countless organizations like the American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association, the Breast Cancer Fund, WIN Against Breast Cancer, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

By supporting reauthorization of this stamp, you are not only helping research but you are also helping to raise awareness.

Think about it! A customer purchases the stamp, a carrier delivers it, and a person receives it. That is three people who have seen the message saying: ``breast cancer needs to be stamped out!''

Each time we use the stamp we raise additional funds for research and we send a message of hope that we will find a cure.

The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Mr. Speaker, S. 37, authored by Senator Feinstein of California, extends the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for 2 years.

Eight years ago, the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act established the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Program and directed the U.S. Postal Service to issue a new breast cancer stamp with proceeds benefiting breast cancer research at the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Programs. The first semi postal stamp in U.S. history, it has raised nearly 44 million dollars for biomedical breast cancer research.

The legislation we are considering today reauthorizes the breast cancer research stamp program through the year 2007. The stamp marks the first time that a portion of the proceeds of stamp sales have gone to fund research. Funding is directed to prevention, detection, diagnosis arid treatment research projects.

A National Cancer Institute report estimates that about one in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, accounting for 30 percent of all cancers in women. When people choose to purchase the Breast Cancer Stamp, they turn that simple little act into a meaningful and effective way to participate in the fight against breast cancer.

Finally Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Government Reform, I would like to thank Chairman Joe Barton of the Commerce Committee and Chairman Duncan Hunter of the Armed Services Committee, whose committees' share jurisdiction with the Government Reform Committee over this program for their support and for agreeing to expedite the consideration of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join my colleague in the consideration of S. 37, legislation extending the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for 2 years. This measure, which was sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein, was introduced on January 24, 2005, and unanimously passed by the Senate on September 27, 2005. On October 20, 2005, the Government Reform Committee unanimously reported

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Government Reform, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Armed Services be discharged from further consideration of the Senate bill (S. 37) to extend the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for 2 years, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.