To amend title 39, United States Code, to extend the authority of the United States Postal Service to issue a semipostal to raise funds for breast cancer research.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First of all, I want to commend my good friend, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay), for his remarks and his work on this legislation.

I rise today to urge passage of H.R. 1236, to extend the authority of the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp to support breast cancer research.

Those of us in Congress received a tragic reminder of the need for continued research into this disease with the passing of our beloved colleague, Jo Ann Davis; and we thank the majority, in particular Mr. Clay, for taking the opportunity to honor her memory.

Nearly 180,000 people, mostly, but not all, women, will learn that they have invasive breast cancer this year alone. About 40,000 people will die from this disease. Women who are white and over the age of 40 are more likely to suffer from breast cancer, but its victims run the gamut of age, race and socioeconomic background. We have made some progress in recent years thanks to early detection and increased awareness and availability of mammograms.

But in the past 3 years, both mammograms and incidence of breast cancer have decreased. This doesn't mean things are getting better. It means ominously and unfortunately that fewer cases are being detected.

As I am sure Jo Ann Davis would tell us if she were still with us here today, early detection, early treatment, constant vigilance and public awareness are key to putting this disease in its place. For example, incidence rates of both invasive and in-situ breast cancer rise and fall with the percentage of women who receive mammograms.

After two decades of progress, both the use of mammograms and the rates of detection have begun to slip in recent years. As early detection increased, so did survival rates; but they will fall, too, if we can't improve public awareness of the importance of early detection.

That's where the measure that is before us comes in. This bill would reauthorize the Postal Service to issue the 55-cent stamp for first class mail, with 14 cents of each stamp going to breast cancer research and awareness programs for an additional 4 years. Since the program began in 1998, the Postal Service has sold more than 785 million of these stamps and raised $54.6 million for breast cancer research.

This disease preys on women such as Jo Ann Davis and on so many others, women on whom others have come to depend. They are mothers, grandmothers, business owners, teachers, researchers, even Members of this great body. We need these women and the invaluable contributions they make to our life and society. We need this measure to help save their lives.

I have had the privilege of attending every single Race for the Cure for the past 11 years, every single one that has been held in my hometown of Knoxville.

This is a very worthwhile cause that I am sure all of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle can support very enthusiastically.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I urge passage of this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 597) to extend the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for 4 years, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, now it is my pleasure to yield such time as he might consume to the author of this legislation, Representative Clay from Missouri.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly join with my colleague from California in extolling the legacy of Representative Jo Ann Davis, who served with us on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Mr. Speaker, S. 597, as amended, now mirrors the House version of the Breast Cancer Semipostal measure which was unanimously passed by this body on October 30, 2007.

The House version, H.R. 1236, which was sponsored by representative William Lacy Clay, reauthorizes the sale of the breast cancer stamp for an additional 4 years from 2007 to 2011. The bill

also follows up on the Government Accountability Office's recommendations that the relevant agencies report the use of monies received from the sale of the stamp, including a description of any significant advances on accomplishments that were funded by the sale.

As a member of the Oversight Committee Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia, Representative Clay is to be commended for his diligence and patience for working with all parties and securing an acceptable compromise on the sale of the breast cancer stamp.

I note proudly that the United States Postal Service has sold over 785.6 million breast cancer research stamps from which $54.626 million has been transferred to the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense for breast cancer research and awareness.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the public for buying the breast cancer semipostal stamp and the numerous organizations for lending their strong support for its continuation. With your help, I am confident that we will find a cure.

I urge swift passage of this bill, and again commend the representative from Missouri, our colleague, Representative Clay, for his introduction.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1236) to make permanent the authority of the United States Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp to support breast cancer research, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, as a sponsor of H.R. 1236, the bill would make permanent the breast cancer research stamp, which first went on sale on July 29, 1998.

After several discussions with the Postal Service, I offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1236 during the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia markup on September 18, 2007.

The amendment retained the Postal Service's flexibility by reauthorizing the breast cancer stamp for an additional 4 years and strengthens the bill's reporting requirements. The new reporting requirements would assess the breast cancer stamp's effectiveness and appropriateness and the cost to the Postal Service for administering the program to find a cure for breast cancer.

Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), my friend, who is certainly committed to this cause and who has joined with me in what I think is a worthwhile cause for the people of this country.

I also want to dedicate H.R. 1236 in memory of the late Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis. Jo Ann's courageous battle with breast cancer further inspires us to expand efforts to secure more research dollars and find a cure for this devastating disease.

I commend everyone who has championed this issue in Congress, including former Representative Vic Fazio for introducing the first Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act in 1996, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, Representative Joe Baca and the late Juanita Millender McDonald who pioneered the idea of a permanent breast cancer stamp, research stamp in 2001. And I ask my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 1236.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this worthwhile effort.

I yield back my time.

Mr. Speaker, I join happily with the gentleman from Missouri and my own home State Senator, Senator Feinstein, in urging immediate passage of this renewal.

This extension is not only critical, but it comes at a time when those of us on this House floor are still remembering the recent loss of Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis. Yes, in fact, today could be considered to be Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis' Breast Cancer Awareness Day because it's not just the statistic of 180,000 people, mostly women, getting breast cancer or 40,000 dying, it's a friend and a colleague who fought valiantly through not only this Congress but the previous Congress, and almost, but did not, win against this dreaded disease.

Breast Cancer Awareness stamps are not about the $54 million raised, although that goes a long way towards adding to the research pool. It's about the countless millions of people who receive a stamp that sends a message that reminds them to get that available mammogram, to, in fact, do a self-test, to be aware of lumps, to be aware of the possibility of this terrible and invasive disease taking the life of their wife, their daughter, their mother. So, I join again in urging passage of this.

And I might take a personal liberty that you don't often see on the House floor. My opponent in my last race and, God willing, my opponent in this race, Jeeni Criscenzo, is presently fighting cancer. I saw her yesterday in California dealing with the effects of chemo. Her detection was relatively early; she has a good chance. But it's things like this that the House does that sometimes gets criticized as not substantial legislation that hopefully will save women like my opponent and friend, Jeeni Criscenzo, from the kind of terrible tragedy that befell Jo Ann Davis and so many other women last year.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 597, to reauthorize the Postage Stamp for Breast Cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women and the leading cause of cancer death among women under the age of 40. Research is key to improving breast cancer prevention, detection and treatment. In the 9 years the stamp has been sold, it's raised more than $40 million to fund breast cancer research around the country. In those nine years, great strides have been made, but we can do more and that's why we should support the extension of the breast cancer stamp.

In addition to this important legislation, we need to do more to prevent breast cancer deaths in women under the age of 40. Approximately 11,000 women under the age of 40 will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, of which nearly 1 ,300 will die. However, most research, education, and prevention efforts are focused upon women over the age of 45. That's why I introduced the Annie Fox Act, H.R. 715, named after a young woman in my district who was diagnosed with breast cancer and died at the age of35. This bill will authorize research into the causes of breast cancer in younger women and educate them about the risks of breast cancer.

It is important that we not only continue to fund research and education over the ages of 45, but that we also do so for our younger women so that they may live long, healthy lives. I applaud the passage of this important legislation and look forward to working with my colleagues to pass H.R. 715, the Annie Fox Act.