Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be an increased commitment supporting the development of innovative advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection and treatment.

I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding, and I want to thank everyone for all the hard work that went into getting this bill to the floor today.

I rise today to express my appreciation to all of my colleagues who are considering H. Res. 353 which I introduced expressing the need for enhanced support for advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection and treatment. This legislation will lead to the development of prostate cancer screening technologies that are on par with mammography, while improving blood tests and providing education to the general public.

Mr. Speaker, the tragedy of prostate cancer has touched so many Americans, and I ask that you consider these issues:

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. This cancer strikes one in every six men, making it even more prevalent than breast cancer, which strikes one in every seven women. In 2007, more than 218,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 27,000 men died from this disease. One new case occurs every 2.5 minutes, and a man dies from prostate cancer in this country every 19 minutes.

To compact the matter even further, African-American men are 56 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease. Many of us in the Congress, and indeed throughout the country, have either personally been affected by the disease or had a loved one suffer from it. For me, it was my father.

Tragically, our commitment to fighting the disease has not met its impact. To date, the Department of Health and Human Services has failed to invest substantial resources in promising advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer research. And while they have failed, people have died. As a result of that, there are currently no reliable accurate diagnostic tools for detection and treatment of prostate cancer.

The implications of this reality have been grave. More than 1 million men have unnecessary prostate biopsies each year, resulting in needless suffering and an enormous waste of resources. At least 10 percent of men undergoing surgery and 44 percent of men undergoing radiation treatment would have benefited more from watchful waiting.

Current treatment is costly and causes many complications, including impotence and incontinence, in up to 50 percent of men. I might note here that Johns Hopkins Hospital and University, which are located in my district, have done many pioneering things with regard to this disease; as a matter of fact, they have some of the leading experts on it.

More than 70,000--or about one in two--men experience treatment failure each year. Mr. Speaker, in this country, with the greatest medical system in the world, we can simply do better. And we must do better. That is why I was so glad that I was joined by 101 of my colleagues in sponsoring H. Res. 353. This legislation is a first step in recognizing the critical need to address this very tragic disease.

I urge my colleagues to similarly take up the Prostate Research Imaging and Men's Education Act, or PRIME

Act, H.R. 3563, which I have also introduced.

The bill provides $100 million per year for 5 years to expand research on prostate cancer and provides the resources to develop innovative and advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment. The bill also allocates $10 million a year for 5 years for a national campaign to increase awareness about the need for prostate cancer screening and the development of better screening techniques.

Finally, it will spend $20 million a year for 5 years to improve current, often unreliable, blood tests. Just the other day, Mr. Speaker, as I stood in the bank, I ran into four men, all of whom had recently gone through prostate cancer procedures. And it is so sad when you hear them tell their various stories about how it has affected their lives.

And I do believe that this Congress can do better. I believe that this Nation can do better. So many men have said that they want to be treated, but they are simply afraid; they're afraid of the pain, they're afraid of the embarrassment. And I spend a lot of time in my district preaching, almost, to men to make sure they get the test. But if they don't have to have the test, if they can have a better method of discovering this disease, I want them to have that.

Someone once said that in our time and in our space we can make a difference. And we can make a difference. And I realize that a resolution is one thing, something allocating money to do something is another. And that's why this is more or less a precursor, hopefully, for legislation which will bring about the resources so that we can properly address this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 353 and I urge my colleagues to support the resolution. I want to thank Chairman Dingell and Ranking Member Barton for bringing this resolution to the Floor today. I am proud to be a sponsor of this resolution and I was honored to work with my friend and colleague from Maryland, Representative Elijah Cummings--the Democrat sponsor of the resolution--to bring some critically needed awareness to this issue. Representative Cummings has been a true leader on this issue, and today is the culmination of a two-year effort to shine a public spotlight on this national tragedy. This resolution sends a strong signal to the National Institutes of Health and the private sector that Congress is prepared to help them move prostate cancer detection and treatment into the 21st Century.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer, other than some kinds of skin cancer, among men in the United States, affecting at least one in six American men, a rate comparable to breast cancer which strikes one in seven American women. In fact, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States, after lung cancer, and the seventh leading cause of death overall for men in this country. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2007 alone approximately 218,000 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed and roughly 27,000 American men died as a result of this disease.

Medical experts do not know what causes prostate cancer. Medical experts do not know how to prevent prostate cancer, but they do know that not smoking, maintaining a healthy diet, staying physically active, and seeing your doctor regularly contribute to overall good health.

While all men are at risk for prostate cancer, some factors increase risk:

Family history. Men with a father or brother who has had prostate cancer are at greater risk for developing it themselves.

Race. Prostate cancer is more common in some racial and ethnic groups than in others, but medical experts do not know why. Prostate cancer is more common in African-American men than in white men. It is less common in Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native American men than in white men.

It is important for men to take advantage of prostate cancer screening exams in order to detect the disease at the earliest opportunity, when it is still curable. Unfortunately, a recent study funded by the National Cancer Institute demonstrated that the most common available methods of detecting prostate cancer, the PSA blood test and Digital Rectal Exam, DRE, the only preinvasive indicators available for the detection of prostate cancer, are not particularly adept at detecting prostate cancer. The study showed that many PSA blood tests that screen for prostate cancer result in false-negative reassurances and numerous false-positive alarms (15 percent of men with normal PSA levels still have prostate cancer). Even when PSA levels are abnormal, 88 percent of men end up not having prostate cancer that would require surgery but undergo unnecessary biopsies. As a result more than 1,000,000 U.S. men have prostate biopsies annually--costing our health care system approximately $1.44 billion--many of which could be eliminated if we had advanced diagnostic imaging tools.

Today, neither the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services nor the Department of Defense devotes substantial resources to prostate cancer imaging research. I have been told that the National Institutes of Health spent only $10 million on prostate cancer detection research last year out of a total prostate cancer research budget of $350 million. In short, there is no concerted Federal effort to bring the equivalent of mammography to prostate cancer detection.

Breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer resulted from the development of advanced imaging technologies led by the Federal Government and I am convinced that Federal leadership could lead to similar breakthroughs for prostate cancer. That is why we introduced, along with my colleague Elijah Cummings of Maryland, H. Res. 353--Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be an increased Federal commitment supporting the development of innovative advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection and treatment.

We owe it to ourselves, our fathers, grandfathers, brothers, sons, husbands, and friends to make this effort. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res 353.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 353) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be an increased Federal commitment supporting the development of innovative advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection and treatment, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this resolution under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 353, which calls for increased support for research and development of advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection and treatment. This resolution recognizes the inadequacies of the current way prostate cancer is detected. There is an urgent need for the development of advanced imaging technologies.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. In 2008, more than 218,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 27,000 men will die from the disease. This resolution hopes to use the very successful model presented by the development of breast imaging technologies which has led to life-saving breakthroughs in detection, diagnosis and treatment of that insidious disease. Using this research and development model, hopefully we can achieve the same detection and life-saving successes for prostate cancer.

Imaging technology cannot only save lives, but also has the potential for reducing health care costs with accurate and affordable diagnosis of prostate cancer. This is an important piece of legislation for men's health.

I want to thank my colleague, Congressman Elijah Cummings, for his leadership on this issue and urge my colleagues to join me in support of House Resolution 353.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland as much time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to thank my colleague from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for all of his hard work on this piece of legislation. This is something that we should pass. I urge my colleagues to vote ``aye.''

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to rise in favor of House Resolution 353, which is sponsored by the gentleman from Maryland, Elijah Cummings. He has worked steadfastly on this issue that affects an approximate 2 million Americans currently diagnosed with prostate cancer, and I commend him on his work.

House Resolution 353 supports the development and innovative advances of using imaging technologies when detecting and treating prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America and takes the lives of nearly 28,000 American men each year. Over a lifetime, that is one out of every six males will fall victim to this silent killer.

Early prostate cancer usually has no symptoms and is commonly detected through prostate cancer screening tests such as the PSA blood test and DRE. The chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer increases rapidly after the age of 50. The most likely risk factors that are associated to prostate cancer are age and family history of the disease.

In addition to the PSA blood test and DRE, imaging is another useful tool that can help with the detection and treatment of the disease. It is important for men to take advantage of prostate screening exams which could yield early detection when the disease is still curable.

I urge my fellow Members to support House Resolution 353.

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

Mr. Speaker, I recognize myself for as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me just thank Mr. Cummings from Maryland for drafting this resolution and his bill and congratulate him on getting this resolution to the House floor. I encourage all of my colleagues to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the motions to suspend the rules relating to the following measures be considered as adopted in the form considered by the House on Tuesday June 24, 2008:

House Resolution 1294, House Concurrent Resolution 163, House Resolution 353, House Resolution 1231, H.R. 2245, H.R. 4264, H.R. 4918, House Resolution 1271, House Concurrent Resolution 370, House Concurrent Resolution 195, House Resolution 970, House Concurrent Resolution 365.