HEART for Women Act

Madam Speaker, yesterday was World Alzheimer's Day--a day to call attention to and raise awareness of this fatal, neurodegenerative disease afflicting over 5 million Americans.

In this country, someone develops Alzheimer's every 70 seconds, and total healthcare costs are more than three times higher for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias than for people the same age without the disease. Experts estimate that it could affect as many as 10 million baby boomers as they age. The bottom line is this: Alzheimer's disease poses a significant public health threat to our Nation.

In my State of California, there will be as many as 480,000 people age 65 and older who will have Alzheimer's disease by 2010. And Alzheimer's doesn't just strike the individual--it is a family disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association's 2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, there are nearly 10 million Alzheimer's caregivers providing unpaid care valued at $94 billion. In California alone, there are over 1 million caregivers grappling with the tremendous challenges of Alzheimer's disease every day.

In order to assist caregivers with these daunting challenges, I plan to reintroduce the Alzheimer's Treatment and Caregiver Support Act this month (H.R. 1032 in the 110th Congress). This bill provides grants to public and nonprofit organizations to improve treatment services for Alzheimer's patients and expand training and support services for families and caregivers. Expanding access to training and support services would improve the ability of caregivers to provide effective, compassionate care and allow more people with Alzheimer's disease to remain in their homes with people who love them. This bill had over 100 cosponsors in the 110th Congress, and I hope the 111th Congress will pass this important bill and send it to the President's desk.

We can also fight this disease with the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act, H.R. 3286, of which I am proud to be a cosponsor. This legislation seeks to find breakthroughs in Alzheimer's disease by increasing research funding to $2 billion per year. It also calls for a national summit on Alzheimer's disease to look at promising research possibilities and programs that are important in fighting this disease.

As we recognize World Alzheimer's Day 2009, I urge my colleagues to join with me and cosponsor the Alzheimer's Treatment and Caregiver Support Act and the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act. Let us commit to take every possible action to improve treatments for Alzheimer's patients, support caregivers, and invest in research to find a cure for this disease.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1032, the HEART for Women Act. As you may know, heart disease is the number one killer of American women, claiming the lives of over 400,000 women annually.

The HEART for Women Act seeks to improve our capability to prevent, diagnose and treat heart disease in women in three ways.

First, it requires a GAO report to carefully look at the FDA's record of evaluating new drug and device applications in an effort to ensure we are taking into account how new drugs and devices affect women differently than men as well as people of different ethnicities or ages.

This could not be more timely following the recently released Institute of Medicine report ``Women's Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise'' recommending that ``all medical product evaluations by the Food and Drug Administration present efficacy and safety data separately for men and women. . .''

Second, the bill requires the Secretary to report on the quality and access to care for women with heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular disease.

And finally, it expands the CDC's successful WISEWOMAN program which provides critical cardiovascular screening, treatment, education and prevention services to low-income women.

I'd like to thank the broad coalition of supporters who have endorsed this legislation, especially American Heart Association, WomenHeart and the Society for Women's Health Research.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation and in favor of improving the health of women living with heart disease.

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

H.R. 1032, the Heart Disease Education, Analysis, Research, and Treatment for Women Act, would take several important steps in the fight against heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.

First, the amended bill would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the extent to which sponsors of new drugs, biologics, and devices follow current guidelines with respect to providing clinical trial data by gender and ethnicity. It would also require the Secretary to submit a report to Congress by September 30, 2013, and annually thereafter on the quality and access to care for women with heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular disease. Finally, the bill would reauthorize the Wise Women Program for 5 years. The program provides preventative benefits to uninsured and underinsured women who are at high risk of heart disease.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1032) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in women, as amended.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1032, the HEART for Women Act. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, and stroke is the number three killer of women. H.R. 1032 expands the CDC's Wise Women Program, which serves low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women by providing cardiovascular disease screenings, referrals, outreach, and education about healthy behaviors.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.