EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5185, the reauthorization of the Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or the EARLY Act.

The EARLY Act, which I first introduced in 2009 with my good friend and former colleague Sue Myrick of North Carolina, was cosponsored by a humbling 378 Members of the House and became law in 2010.

This law, which has been capably implemented by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, must now be reauthorized so we can ensure the good work being done by the CDC can continue.

I am very thankful to my good friend, Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, for leading the reauthorization effort with me this year. I also deeply appreciate the support and assistance of Chairman Fred Upton and Ranking Member Frank Pallone in helping bring this reauthorization bill to the floor today. It would not have happened without their willingness and their support.

Lastly, but certainly not least, thank you to Senators Amy Klobuchar and David Vitter for sponsoring the Senate version of this important reauthorization bill.

The EARLY Act focuses, Mr. Speaker, on a central tenet, that we must empower young women to understand their bodies and speak up for their health. Too many women and their health practitioners think that breast

cancer is not something that happens to younger women, but the hard truth is that more than 26,000 women under age 45 are diagnosed with this deadly disease each year, and too often, their breast cancer is a more aggressive form and is caught later than it should be.

The EARLY Act created a crucial education and outreach campaign administered by the CDC and highlights the breast cancer risks facing young women while empowering them with the tools they need to fight this deadly disease.

It is also designed to help education and sensitize healthcare providers about the specific threats and warning signs of breast cancer in younger women that lead to early detection, diagnosis, and survival.

The EARLY Act also created the Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women within the CDC, made up of breast cancer medical professionals and advocates from around the Nation. The advisory committee is hard at work developing evidence-based messages for groups at high risk, from genetic testing to fertility preservation and the basics of insurance coverage.

The CDC is rolling out a number of targeted media outreach strategies to reach specific groups of young women who are more at risk for developing breast cancer.

Understanding these risks is critical, Mr. Speaker, because the statistics are sobering. One in eight women we know will get breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer strikes women from all backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. It strikes the rich and the poor, those with access to quality health care and those with little or no health care.

I was a young woman at high risk, but I didn't know it. Just months after a clean mammogram in late 2007--I know my colleagues here have heard me tell my story--I heard those terrible words, ``You have breast cancer.''

Thinking of my children and their future, I underwent seven surgeries, including a double mastectomy, and for as much as I thought I knew as an advocate in the fight against breast cancer throughout my legislative career, there was so much I didn't know.

I did not know that as an Ashkenazi Jew, I was five times more likely to have a genetic mutation that drastically increased the likelihood of getting breast or ovarian cancer. I did not know that I am in fact a carrier of the BRCA gene, which gave me up to an 85 percent lifetime chance of getting breast cancer and up to a 60 percent chance of getting ovarian cancer.

I was fortunate that I had the resources I needed to learn about my risks and got the help I needed, but I didn't find my tumor through luck, Mr. Speaker. I found it through knowledge and awareness, which is what the EARLY Act has been able to give so many young women.

After I was diagnosed with breast cancer and experienced the importance of early detection firsthand, I knew that I had to introduce legislation to help other young women facing this terrible disease.

In the first few years of this law, the CDC has already accomplished incredible work: identifying where the gaps exist in education and awareness among young women and healthcare providers about breast health; supporting young survivors through grants to organizations focused on helping these survivors cope with the many unique challenges that they face as young survivors, including fertility preservation and long-term survivorship challenges; and in implementing a targeted media campaign, including innovative social media efforts to reach women at the highest risk.

The EARLY Act has also supported specific statewide initiatives. In Georgia, the State established a statewide breast cancer genetics services network for referrals of women at high risk and to help collect baseline and post-implementation data.

In 2012, Michigan distributed over 14,000 Michigan Department of Community Health cancer family history guides to assist providers in identifying high-risk patients for referral to genetic specialists.

In addition to the 30 bipartisan cosponsors here in the House, the reauthorization of the EARLY Act has the support of the Susan G. Komen foundation, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Livestrong Foundation, Young Survival Coalition, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Cancer Support Community, FORCE, the Black Women's Health Imperative, and the Tigerlily Foundation.

I know these groups have a deep understanding of both the amazing work we have accomplished so far but also the challenges that lie ahead. We must continue these important efforts and empower more women with the knowledge and tools they need to fight this disease, not just to survive, but to thrive. Together, we can save more of our moms, sisters, grandmothers, daughters, and sister friends.

Please help us keep up the momentum and stand with Congresswoman Ellmers and myself and countless young women in support of reauthorization of the EARLY Act.

Mr. Speaker, if I might add, on Sunday, I marked a celebration of 7 years as a survivor of breast cancer, so this is particularly poignant and significant, and I am so appreciative of the leadership of the House on both sides of the aisle for giving this bill the full attention that it needs and deserves.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that I am so proud and honored to have been asked to join with my good friend, Debbie Wasserman Schultz from Florida, as an original cosponsor on this very important bipartisan EARLY Act and thrilled to see this reauthorization considered in the House of Representatives.

The EARLY Act has a proven record of success, saving countless lives through both preventive and early detection measures. Unfortunately, like many good friends like my friend from Florida, they were stricken with an awful cancer.

There are still far too many courageous women fighting this disease, including a dear friend of mine back home in Dunn, Fonnie Godwin. Fonnie was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 42, and 4 years later, she continues her courageous fight against this disease.

The EARLY Act will serve to shed light on this disease and give hope to all women like Fonnie who are still fighting this awful, awful cancer. This legislation ensures that all women, young and old, have the information and resources necessary to protect themselves and also supports those who are in remission.

This legislation will continue its important work of educating future generations on the risks associated with this disease. I look forward to seeing the EARLY Act pass this House and advance on to the Senate today.

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

Mr. Speaker, we are ready to close.

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

I just want to say again thank you to my good friend for allowing me to be a part of this. I know how important it is to her and, again, thousands and thousands like her; and, again, to my friend Fonnie Godwin back home, Fonnie has touched so many lives. She is a teacher, she is a wife and a mother, and she is involved in her church and her community.

On Christmas Eve, she will be at First Presbyterian Church in Dunn playing the bells in the choir. I always see a smile on Fonnie's face, and today, I want to make that smile even bigger.

Again, Mr. Speaker, thank you so much for allowing this to move forward today, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon in strong support of H.R. 5185, the EARLY Act. This very important bipartisan bill would reauthorize education and outreach programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created to highlight the breast cancer risks facing young women.

Breast cancer, as we know, is an issue that hits close to home for many Americans. While most breast cancers are found in women who are over 50 years old or older, about 11 percent of all new cases of breast cancer in the U.S. are found in women 45 and younger. And while diagnosis and treatment are difficult for women of any age, young survivors often find it even more challenging.

This bill would reauthorize the important programs created in the EARLY Act, first passed to increase an understanding of breast cancer among young women by conducting prevention research and a campaign to raise awareness among the public and medical providers about early cases of breast cancer.

This bill continues to improve the health and quality of life of young breast cancer survivors and young women who are at a higher risk of getting the disease.

I want to particularly thank the two authors of the bill, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, herself a breast cancer survivor, and Energy and Commerce Committee member Renee Ellmers, who is managing the bill this afternoon. I am so proud to support this effort.

The prevention, treatment, and ultimately curing of diseases requires an all-hands-on-deck effort to not only educate but also innovate on new cures and treatments.

Early this year, the Energy and Commerce Committee embarked on the 21st Century Cures initiative with a goal of finding cures and treatments for thousands without one, including this terrible disease.

Sadly, we have all been touched in some manner by cancer or some other disease, whether it is a personal diagnosis or a courageous fight by a loved one. We have been encouraged and humbled by the support that we have seen for this initiative, but also understand that there is a great deal of work ahead. We look forward to meeting that challenge, and this bill helps us.

I would urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Again, I particularly want to commend the two gentleladies who will be speaking here this afternoon and urge all my colleagues to vote for it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to our colleague from Florida, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic sponsor of this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5185, the EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 220,000 women and 2,000 men were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, making breast cancer the most common cancer among women. Approximately 11 percent of the new breast cancer cases occur in women under 45 years of age.

Young women who have close relatives diagnosed with breast cancer before age 45, have changes in certain breast cancer genes, were treated with radiation therapy to the breast or the chest as a child or a young adult, or possess certain other risk factors may be at higher risk for getting breast cancer at a young age.

The EARLY Act was first signed into law in 2010 to improve young women's breast health awareness and assist young women diagnosed with breast cancer. The act has supported public health research on breast cancer in young women, communication and education initiatives, and support services to young breast cancer survivors and their families.

Mr. Speaker, today's legislation reauthorizes the EARLY Act at currently appropriated funding levels and requires a study to identify any activities under the act that are duplicative of other Federal breast cancer education efforts.

I want to acknowledge Representatives Wasserman Schultz and Ellmers for their work on this issue and also thank leaders and staff on the Energy and Commerce Committee for helping to bring H.R. 5185 to the floor today.

I urge colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation. Breast cancer is an issue that has touched almost every family I know, and this is one way Congress can react to it.

Mr. Speaker, we are ready to close, and we have no other speakers.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 5185, which is at the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.