Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today I honor the life and work of Donald K. White, Jr. who passed away earlier this month after a truly courageous fight with cancer.

Don White was the Assistant Superintendent for the AOC's Capitol Superintendent's Office since 2000, and began his career with the Architect of the Capitol in June 1990. His service to our great country started with the U.S. Marine Corps.

Don White always took great pride in his work, and was committed to providing outstanding service to Congress and the visiting public. Under his direction, the American people have enjoyed several major events at the Capitol, including the past three Presidential Inaugurations. He was truly the personification of the excellent work and values that we strive to embody in our own service to the government.

Madam Speaker, Donald White, Jr. is survived by his children, Donald III and Ashley, and his grandson Matthew Alexander White. I know that I speak for all of my colleagues when I say that he will be remembered, and missed, for his lifelong work and service to our government and our nation.

Mr. Speaker, it will be interesting to go to that Web site and find what is the so-called Republican beginning of a proposal, because 139 days ago the Republican leadership promised to introduce their own health reform bill and yet we are still waiting.

Since the mysterious Republican plan hasn't been introduced, the American people can't really see what's in it. It's all being written behind closed doors. What little we do know of what they are planning should bring a smile to the faces of insurance company CEOs.

Their leader, Mr. Boehner, admitted the other day that their collection of bills does not end discrimination based

on preexisting conditions. Nowhere in their collection of bills do they help more Americans afford health care. Nowhere in their collection of bills do they end discrimination from insurance companies' practice of dropping coverage if you get sick.

Four months ago, Democrats made public our health care reform proposal by posting it online for anyone to see. Since then, there have been multiple committee hearings during which the Republicans had ample opportunity to debate the bill and offer amendments.

Republicans won't even let the public see their bill. What are they hiding? Will they include Representative Broun's proposal to privatize Medicare? How about dismantling the entire Medicare system?

Americans deserve to know.

Mr. Speaker, it has been 133 days since the Republicans promised to present their health insurance reform legislation, and we still have no alternative plan from them.

The fastest growth group of uninsured Americans is older Americans age 50 to 64. Saying ``no'' to health insurance reform hurts millions of Americans who lack health insurance.

There was a 36 percent increase in the number of older Americans without insurance from 2000 to 2009. It used to be if you worked most of your life here in America you could retire to someplace warm and sunny like my home State of Florida. There were 7.1 million uninsured people age 50 to 64 in 2007. How can we allow more than 7 million Americans over 50--many who have worked their entire life--to go without health insurance? They certainly can't afford to retire when they're worried about how to pay for their medical bills.

Republicans point to a bunch of different solutions offered by their Members, including dismantling or privatizing Medicare. So which plan do they stand behind? Americans deserve to know.

Thank you so much.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be able to be here with my colleagues, both of whom are members of the 30-Something Working Group.

Mr. Murphy, one of the things that has really stricken me when it comes to thinking about some of the devastating statistics that are out there in terms of describing what our uninsured population looks like are our older Americans. Not senior citizens; they are obviously covered by Medicare. But there was a 36 percent increase in the number of older Americans without health insurance between 2000 and 2009. We are literally at 7.1 million uninsured people as of just 2007, which means you know now there are more than that who are between 50 and 64 years old. It is really startling to me that there are that many. That is a gap in coverage.

I know my own mom, who has a preexisting condition, if she didn't have a job, would be in that same category. She is 63 years old. She is not Medicare eligible yet. The job that she has provides health insurance, but she is a cancer survivor. As a cancer survivor, she is absolutely uninsurable. I have tried to get her insurance. She needs to be winding down her working years; but, unfortunately, there is no insurance company on the individual market or anywhere else that will insure her if she is trying to buy insurance privately. That is what health care reform will solve, for someone like my mom, for the more than 7 million people who are older in this country, who are either working Americans or who need to be winding down their working years, it will provide them with insurance that they don't have to worry about losing, that they don't have to worry about it being taken away because they have a preexisting condition, that will be tied to them and not their job.

Those are essential reforms. And it just continues to boggle my mind that our friends on the other side of the aisle who promised 133 days ago that they would have a health care proposal, a health care plan, an alternative to ours, the one that they are out there trashing every day, and yet they still don't have one. They point to this bill and that bill that is maybe pieces of reform. I don't know. When I look at my children's puzzles that they have, the only time I think of it as whole is when all the pieces are together. You can't call a plan 40 different pieces of the puzzle and say, Oh, there's our plan. We've thrown out some suggestions. That's our version of reform.

That is not reform. That is just a whole bunch of broken pieces laying all over the floor. That is not leadership. Not only have they not exercised leadership, they have simply been an obstacle. The American people see through it. It is transparent. That is why every week that goes by, we pick up more and more support for health care reform. That is why 57 percent of the American people, when asked, support a public option, support a competitive option to provide more choice and more competition with the private market.

I will stop for now by just giving you my frustration from personal experience, because I have to tell you, over the last few months I have had an opportunity to talk about my own personal health care experience. In doing that, I felt very fortunate after going through breast cancer last year, that I had insurance. I had coverage through my job here as a Member of Congress. But I am 43 years old, and if I left employment with the Federal Government, I would be uninsurable because I had cancer. And this is what breast cancer survivors go through for the rest of their lives after a diagnosis, no matter how unlikely it is that we would have a recurrence.

For me, as a breast cancer survivor, I took steps to make it less likely even than the average woman to have a recurrence. So I am at like 96 or 98 percent likely to never have to deal with breast cancer again; but I would be uninsurable. That is wrong. Health care should be a right, not a privilege. It is just unconscionable. They are lacking in conscience, our opponents, and that is all you can call them right now is opponents. The opponents of reform have no conscience. They clearly don't care about making sure that people like me, people like my mom, people like the constituents that I represent who don't have insurance but deserve to have it, that they can get it.

Thank you.

Right.

If the gentleman would yield, the point you are making can't be stressed enough. There are countless individuals in this country, countless people. We are talking about people. The 46 million, when you talk about the 46 million that are not insured, it is very easy to glaze over and think about them as an amorphous blob rather than 46 million human beings.

One of those human beings, like your example, the person who went through gallbladder cancer, was a woman who came into my office a few weeks ago, and she said this to me. She said, I am happy, Debbie, that you survived, that you got through your breast cancer. You were very fortunate when you were diagnosed. The only thing you had to think about was fighting your cancer.

A day after she was diagnosed for the third time, she lost her job, and then she lost as a result her insurance. So at the same time as getting a third diagnosis of breast cancer, she also had to battle for coverage and has not been able to get the access to care that she should have been able to get. That happens to breast cancer survivors and people who are victims of disease every single day in this country because their insurance is tied to their job. If they don't have a job, very often they don't have insurance and they can't get insurance. That is just, in this country, in the wealthiest country in the world, in the country that people always throw around the comment, we have the best health care in the world, no, we don't. We are 29th in infant mortality, and 37th in life expectancy. The statistics that Americans are dealing with in terms of their likely survival and their health is just abominable, because we have a sick-care system, like the gentleman from Ohio said, not a preventative-based system, not a well system.

I yield to my friend.

But they don't.

Well, you're absolutely right. As we came out of the ``August of fear'' and were progressing through the fall, every day that goes by, with every passing day--add the bogus report that was released by AHIP, the Association of Health Insurance Plans of America, that tried to scare seniors and scare people into believing that their costs were going to go up and that government was trying to take over their health care. As Mr. Sarbanes alluded to, forgive us if we don't trust the health insurance industry to do the right thing on their own; they've had many, many years to do that. For at least some of this debate they have been helpful--or at least not obstacles, which is progress. And we will hitch our star to any progress that we can make when it comes to expanding access to health care and making sure we can cover everybody.

But at the end of the day, the fearmongering isn't working anymore. I mean, opponents of reform were singularly focused on scaring seniors, on scaring people into believing that the health coverage that they had now was going away, that they weren't going to be able to get access to quality health care, that somehow we were going to begin rationing. And you know what? The American people see through that. They can see the transparent attempt to derail reform because their real priority is politics. Their real priority is that they are unhappy that they are not in power, they have been disrobed, revealed to be essentially the frauds that they are because they say now that they want reform, but they had 12 years, 12 years that they ran this place--they were in charge for 12 years and they did nothing. They controlled everything and they did nothing about health care reform.

So that is why the American people are not responding to their distortions and their exaggerations and their fearmongering. The American people have had it, and they want health care reform.

I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut.

Mr. Speaker, you know, I will tell you what is scary. What is scary is the woman who came into my office a few weeks ago who shared her story with me to tell me about her breast cancer experience that she had just been through for the third time. She told me how I as a breast cancer survivor was fortunate because when I was diagnosed all I had to worry about was fighting the cancer. When she was diagnosed, she also one day later lost her job and, with it, her health insurance. So not only did she have to battle breast cancer, but she also was faced with battling how she was going to get her health care taken care of so she could get well from breast cancer and continue to be the survivor that she has been for many, many years.

Americans are tired of the party of ``no.'' Americans are tired of obstacle after obstacle standing at that podium insisting on making up things that just aren't true.

There are bills out there that are available and accessible to anyone to look at. This has been an open and transparent process. But the bottom line is there are 46 million people that don't have health insurance. We need to provide stability and security to those that do and bring the costs down.

I challenge our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work with us on true health care reform, instead of being the party of ``no.''

Madam Speaker, on October 20, 2009, I missed the following rollcall votes due to a longstanding commitment away from Washington:

1. Rollcall vote No. 790, H.R. 3763, To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide for an exclusion from Red Flag Guidelines for certain businesses;

2. Rollcall vote No. 791, H.R. 3319, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 440 South Gulling Street in Portola, California, as the ``Army Specialist Jeremiah Paul McCleery Post Office Building'';

3. Rollcall vote No. 792, H. Res. 558, Supporting the increased understanding of, and interest in, computer science and computing careers among the public and in schools, and to ensure an ample and diverse future technology workforce through the designation of National Computer Science Education Week.

If present, I would have voted ``aye'' on all matters.

Mr. Speaker, it's been 125 days, 126 days since Representative Roy Blunt, the point man for the rumored Republican alternative health reform plan, said: I guarantee you we will provide you with a bill. Republican leaders from Governor Bobby Jindal to former Senate majority leaders Bill Frist and Bob Dole have indicated that Republicans need to work with Democrats to offer health care solutions.

But rather than coming up with a plan to lower health care costs and stop insurance companies from discriminating against you if you get sick, Republicans are choosing to be the party of ``no'' and the status quo.

No is not a solution. Saying no costs the average family $1,800 in increased health costs each year. Health insurance reform is about putting the American people and doctors back in charge, not the insurance companies, to guarantee stability, lower costs, higher equality and more choices of plans. Our friends on the other side of the aisle can't run away from the fact that they have no plan, as much as they might like to. The time to act on health insurance reform is now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act.

The Ryan White Act is lifesaving legislation that funds a vast array of innovative and effective services that form the healthcare safety net for uninsured and underinsured Americans living with HIV/AIDS. Ryan White programs are ``payer of last resort,'' which subsidize treatment when no other resources are available.

The program provides medical care, drugs, and support services for 500,000 people a year. It's been a huge success in reducing sickness and death from HIV disease and helping people live longer, more healthy, and productive lives. The Ryan White programs also provide funding and technical assistance to local and state primary medical care providers, support services, healthcare provider and training programs.

Congress must extend this critical law to ensure that vital services are not withheld from people who so desperately need them.

We must pass this legislation, so that Ryan's legacy lives on with his message of love, compassion, and hope.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act.

The Ryan White Act is lifesaving legislation that funds a vast array of innovative and effective services that form the health care safety net for uninsured and underinsured Americans living with HIV/AIDS. Ryan White programs are a ``payer of last resort'' which subsidize treatment when no other resources are available.

The program provides medical care, drugs, and support services for 500,000 people a year. It has been a huge success in reducing sickness and death from HIV disease and helping people live longer, more healthy and productive lives.

The Ryan White programs also provide funding and technical assistance to local and State primary medical care providers, support services, health care providers, and training programs. Congress must extend this critical law to ensure that vital services are not withheld from people who so desperately need them.

We must pass this legislation so that Ryan's legacy lives on with his message of love, compassion, and hope.

Madam Speaker, I was absent on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, due to a previously scheduled event. Had I been present I would have voted ``yes'' during the recorded votes for the following five bills:

1. H. Res. 768--Expressing support for the designation of the month of October as ``National Work and Family Month'';

2. H.R. 1327--Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009;

3. H. Res. 816--Mourning the loss of life caused by the earthquakes and tsunamis that occurred on September 29, 2009, in American Samoa and Samoa;

4. H. Res. 786--Commemorating the canonization of Father Damien de Veuster, SS.CC., to sainthood; and

5. H.R. 3371--Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009.

Madam Speaker, on October 14, 2009, I missed the following Rollcall Votes due to a longstanding commitment away from Washington:

1. Rollcall vote No. 775, H. Res. 768, Expressing support for the designation of the Month of October as ``National Work and Family Month''.

2. Rollcall vote No. 776, H.R. 1327, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act.

3. Rollcall Vote 777, H. Res. 816, Mourning the loss of life caused by the earthquakes and tsunamis that occurred on September 29, 2009.

4. Rollcall Vote 778, H.R. 3371, Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009.

5. Rollcall Vote 779, H. Res. 786, Commemorating the canonization of Father Damien de Veuster, SS.CC. to sainthood.

If present, I would have voted ``yea'' on all matters.

I thank the gentleman in support of the resolution.

I rise today, Mr. Speaker, in support of H.R. 1327, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009, which aims to put a stop to Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. It cannot be overstated. A nuclear armed Iran is an urgent and deadly threat to peace and stability in the Middle East and at home.

The anti-Western rhetoric of Iranian President Ahmadinejad has only intensified in recent years. His regime supports terrorism in all its forms, a travesty worsened by the fact that Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons against the will of the international community. If Iran continues its plans for nuclear buildup, we can expect that nuclear proliferation will increase throughout the region and around the globe. That is why it is critical for Congress to pass the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act.

This legislation would authorize State and local governments to divest from companies investing in Iran's petroleum and natural gas sector. With Tehran importing nearly 40 percent of its gas and diesel needs, this legislation would have a dramatic effect on Iran's economy and is an important step forward in convincing Iran to suspend its nuclear program. It strikes a careful balance between the administration's diplomatic outreach and the need for us to make sure that we can tighten the noose around Iran's neck in the event that those diplomatic efforts are not successful.

Madam Speaker, before I begin my remarks in support of H.R. 621, I do want to suggest to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster) that Samoas would probably give Thin Mints a run for their money, just speaking from personal experience. I'm out there helping my daughters drag that wagon behind me.

I'd be happy to yield.

Reclaiming my time, the gentleman would be interested and thrilled to learn that both Samoas and Thin Mints are now in ice cream that are special edition Edy's brand ice creams that are sold during the time in January when the Girl Scouts are out there selling their cookies for a good cause.

I'm glad to provide you with the furtherance of your education on the Girl Scouts whose leaders, by the way, are not den mothers. Those are the Cub Scouts. Troop leaders are the actual title for Girl Scouts, and den mothers are Cub Scouts.

Anyway, I realize that that has cut into much of my 2 minutes, so if the gentleman would further yield.

Thank you very much.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 621, the Girl Scouts USA Commemorative Coin Act. It is an honor to work with the sponsor of this important legislation, my friend and colleague from Georgia, Representative Jack Kingston.

As you may know, and as he has so wonderfully detailed, 97 years ago the first Girl Scout National Council meeting was held right here in Washington, D.C., and founder Juliette Gordon Low was elected president. Ms. Low envisioned providing a safe place, an environment of acceptance where girls could be inspired and challenged to build the necessary skills to become leaders. This vision still holds strong today, and the Girl Scouts provide the premier opportunity for girls and women to develop the talents and confidence necessary for a lifetime of leadership.

Being involved in this pursuit means something different to everyone. To me, it means leading by example every day. I'm honored to serve in the United States Congress, Madam Speaker, and I'm proud to tell you that not only was I a Girl Scout, but I am currently a troop leader for my 10-year-old daughter, Rebecca, her troop, and have been for 4 years; and now this year, for the first time, for my 6-year-old daughter Shelby's Brownie troop. But I never stopped being a Girl Scout myself, because I'm currently a member, as I know you are, of Troop Capitol Hill, the honorary Congressional Girl Scout Troop for all women Members of Congress.

In each of these roles, I personally see how Girl Scouts enriches the lives of millions of girls and their families through innovative programming that embraces the rich diversity of communities across our country. Girl Scouts are working day and night to make the world a better place. Through projects in their schools, local neighborhoods, and the international community, they touch lives in many ways. The Girl Scouts Commemorative Coin Act would recognize all the significant contributions of the Girl Scouts movement.

The Girl Scouts Commemorative Coin Act would recognize all of the significant contributions of the Girl Scouts movement and commend their century of service to this country. I strongly join my colleagues in urging our colleagues to vote in favor of this worthy legislation.

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 the subject of this bipartisan Special Order on the subject of breast cancer awareness.

Mr. Speaker, tonight, like so many times before, I stand with my friends and colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address an issue that is both personal and universal.

As you may know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is a privilege to be with fellow survivors and advocates celebrating 25 years of breast health awareness education and empowerment.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women ages 15 to 54 according to the National Cancer Institute. In 2009 alone, the American National Cancer Society estimates that there will be 194,280 new cases of breast

cancer across the nation, and 40,610 of these Americans will die from the disease.

Although these statistics may seem discouraging, we have made significant progress. Steady declines in breast cancer mortality among women since 1990 have been attributed to a combination of early detection and improvements in treatment. When breast cancer is detected at early stages, the survival rate for women is 98 percent. Simply stated, many of these improvements would not have happened without Breast Cancer Awareness Month and its focus on research, education and awareness which increase early diagnoses and save lives.

On a personal level, I know the importance of early detection. Nearly 2 years ago, after I found a lump in my breast while doing a self exam in the shower, my doctor diagnosed me with breast cancer. I had just turned 41. Having been a legislator for more than 17 years and having passed breast cancer legislation, I knew a lot about breast cancer. I knew the importance of early detection, clinical exams every 3 years after age 20, every year after 40, mammograms every year after 40, and yet for all that I knew, I soon realized how much I didn't know. I knew about the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, the so-called breast cancer genes, but I didn't know that some women were more likely to have the mutation. I didn't know that even with no immediate family history of breast cancer, as an Ashkenazi Jew I was five times more likely to have the mutation or that I would have up to an 85 percent lifetime chance of getting breast cancer and up to a 60 percent chance of getting ovarian cancer.

I knew that young women can and do get breast cancer. But like a lot of young women, I didn't know just how many of us it touches. And after talking with health care providers, survivors and advocates, it became clear that many other young women did not know these things either. Despite our seeming wealth of knowledge on breast cancer, an astounding 40 percent of young women with breast cancer said that prior to their diagnosis, they did not know that a young woman could get breast cancer.

That's why on March 26, cancer-free and determined to be among the last young women who did not know enough about breast cancer, I introduced H.R. 1740, the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or the EARLY Act. And just this morning, the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health subcommittee held a hearing on this critical legislation as well as several other important breast cancer legislation.

The EARLY Act is designed to educate young women and their physicians about breast health and provide support for young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Young women must learn to be their own voices, to speak up for themselves and know when they need to go to their doctor, because at the end of the day the old saying rings true, ``knowledge is power.'' And when the EARLY Act becomes law, we will fulfill the vital goals of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, increasing education, research and awareness all year long.

However, research, education and awareness are not all that we focus on when it comes to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We must also take this opportunity to honor and recognize the people close to us who have won their fight against breast cancer, those still fighting, those we have lost, and those who are working hard every day to make sure no one else dies from breast cancer.

We honor the determination of those women and the hope that their courage gives us all. It is an honor to be here tonight, standing together in solidarity as we observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month, wholly committed to increasing early diagnoses, saving more lives and ultimately finding a cure to wipe out this deadly disease. Together, we will save more of our moms, our sisters, our grandmas, our daughters and our loved ones. We can and will empower women to learn the facts, know their bodies, speak up for their health and embrace support.

Mr. Speaker, I am particularly pleased tonight in an environment in which sometimes, in fact too recently, we struggle to do almost anything in a bipartisan fashion, and the intensity and the fervor in which we engage in debate here often prevents us from coming together. The Members of the House of Representatives truly came together today in support and in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. They came together in honor of women who have passed away from breast cancer, in honor of survivors, in honor of women still fighting the disease.

It is my privilege to yield to and introduce my very good friend, fellow breast cancer survivor, someone who has been there for me even before I shared my own story publicly, Congresswoman Sue Myrick, the gentlelady from North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, the gentlelady from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick) has been such a passionate advocate on behalf of all cancer patients. As the co-Chair of the Congressional Cancer Caucus, she has

done an absolutely incredible job at raising awareness not just about breast cancer but about all types of cancer. I think, given how much cancer has touched Americans' lives in a very personal way, it's important that we have local advocates like Sue Myrick, and it's my privilege to be side by side with you as cosponsors of the EARLY Act. Thank you so much.

It's now my privilege to yield 4 minutes to the gentlelady from California, Lois Capps, who has a health care professional background as an RN, prior to her election to Congress, and has been one of the leading voices in women's health in the House of Representatives.

Thank you so much. Again, the gentlelady from California, Lois Capps, has been just one of the most outstanding health care advocates in the Congress. I knew about her advocacy and her leadership in health care even before I arrived in Congress in 2004, and it is a privilege to serve with you. It truly is.

It's now my privilege to yield 2 minutes to a woman who has recently joined the Congress, was elected in the class of 2008, worked hard to get here and has been doing a fantastic job, served in the Nevada State Senate as the State Senate minority leader and is a good friend of mine, Congresswoman Dina Titus from the great State of Nevada.

Thank you so much, Congresswoman Titus. Your leadership and the fact that you've joined the Congress added another woman to our ranks. Women's health and making sure that we can focus the attention and the agenda on women's health here in the United States House of Representatives is so incredibly important. We already have a sort of head cheerleader, so to speak, although I don't mean to trivialize her position. But the first woman, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has been a passionate advocate for women's health and has always encouraged making sure that we have more women join our ranks. You've done an incredible job since you've been here. I'm so pleased that you've joined us in the House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I want to spend a couple of minutes just highlighting some unique facts that, really, most people are unaware of when it comes to breast cancer. What I've learned since my own diagnosis and since getting involved in a more personal way in trying to pass the EARLY Act is--we all hear the expression, Everyone knows someone who

has breast cancer. Well, today we really can say that everyone had someone close to them that had breast cancer.

It's just amazing after I shared my own story how many--I was standing there in the well the day that I shared my story with folks, and I can't tell you how many Members came up to me and touched my arm and said, Debbie, my daughter had breast cancer, my mother, my sister, my wife. People stopping me on the street, on the airplane, on the ball field with my kids. It's amazing. The outpouring of people reaching out to connect with me has just been absolutely incredible, because breast cancer touches so many people and touches women in a very personal way. But what's really frustrating about breast cancer is how it strikes certain populations in a more deadly way.

Another thing that I realized is that there are higher risk populations that too often are unaware of their risk. Like me, as an Ashkenazi Jewish woman, I was not really aware of my risk of having a greater likelihood of carrying the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. Subsequently when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I did a genetic blood test and found out that I am a carrier of the BRCA2 gene. But in doing research for the EARLY Act, the statistics that I learned about African American women and breast cancer were really startling.

African American women have the highest breast cancer death rate among minority women. It's 34 per 100,000 people in the population, African American women from ages 35 to 44. So younger African American women have a breast cancer death rate more than twice the rate of white women in the same age group, and they are 34 percent more likely to die of cancer than are whites, and more than twice as likely to die of cancer as are Asians or Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Hispanics.

We have got to raise awareness in higher-risk populations and minority populations, and we have to change the disparity, the disparity in the survival rate and the disparity in terms of access to health care for their populations, because we know that early detection is the key.

At this time, to talk some more about that, is a very good friend of mine, another newly elected Member from the great State of Pennsylvania, professionally a dietitian before she was elected to Congress, a small business owner, and most importantly, a mother of five. I now yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Pennsylvania, Kathy Dahlkemper.

Thank you so much, Congresswoman Dahlkemper. Again, it was a thrill to see you come to the House of Representatives and add your expertise, particularly as a dietician, and thank you for sharing those personal stories from your district in Pennsylvania.

The important thing about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and when we talk about breast cancer it is putting a face on it, helping people to understand, because so often statistics are really easy to just kind of glaze over and stop paying attention to.

Here tonight to help us continue to raise awareness is the gentlewoman from southern California, Susan Davis, who has made health care a signature issue during her time in both the California Assembly as well as the United States House of Representatives, a member of the Education and Labor Committee, one of the three committees in the House of Representatives that passed part of the health care reform legislation, and she has also been a leader by pushing for billions of dollars in funding for NIH.

I yield to the gentlewoman from California.

Thank you very much.

It's now my privilege to introduce and yield to a gentleman who is, again, another recent addition to the House of Representatives, elected in November of 2008, someone who I have really seen exercise incredible leadership since his election to the United States Congress, and apparently the token man here tonight. So it's really especially wonderful that he has joined us.

Steve Driehaus hails from Ohio and is the former minority whip in the Ohio House of Representatives. He is also a former Peace Corps volunteer, which, to me, that kind of altruism and volunteerism is so incredibly admirable. He is the father of three young children, whom I know he is most proud of.

It's my pleasure to yield to him on behalf of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Thank you so much, Mr. Driehaus. Again, it has absolutely been a privilege to work with you since you joined us in the House of Representatives. You've been really doing an incredible job, and I appreciate especially your taking time out of your evening, especially late in the evening, 9 o'clock at night, to help raise awareness about the importance for women to focus on their breast health and to help women and men be focused on breast cancer awareness in this month of October and all throughout the year.

It's now my privilege to introduce someone whom I have come to know over the last number of years and whose district I have traveled to on a number of occasions and whose leadership I've seen demonstrated both in her hometown of Columbus as well as here on the floor of the House. She served as a former school board member in Franklin County, a former county commissioner in Franklin County, and now serves in the United States House of Representatives with distinction.

I yield to the gentlelady from Ohio, Mary Jo Kilroy.

Thank you so much, Congresswoman Kilroy. It is so wonderful to serve in the House of Representatives with you, and as someone who has recently shared her personal health care battle and highlighted the need for health care reform as a reflection of your own personal story, I really just admire your courage. And it's been an incredible privilege to work with you. Thank you so much.

It's now my privilege to introduce not only my friend but my next- door neighbor in Washington, D.C., a woman who has been a passionate advocate, a fighter--really you look in the dictionary and look up the word ``fighter'' and ``passion'' and Shelley Berkley is right there.

She served prior to her election to Congress in the Nevada State Assembly. And I would like some credit for pronouncing ``Nevada'' correctly. So I want to pat myself on the back for that. Ms. Berkley served on the Nevada State Community College Board of Regents as well. She is the mom of two wonderful sons, both of whom I've met and who have done her proud.

And it's my privilege to yield time to her tonight for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Thank you, Congresswoman Berkley for your leadership and for your friendship and for your neighborliness.

At this time I would like to yield to the gentlelady from North Carolina who will yield to some colleagues who have joined us on her side of the aisle.

Thank you very much, Mr. Cao, for joining us this evening. Again, this has been a bipartisan Special Order, as well as male, female, a combination of devotion to making sure that the women in our lives and the 1 percent of men that are diagnosed with breast cancer every year are more aware of the importance of focusing on their breast health.

It is now my privilege to yield time to the gentleman from Illinois who is celebrating a birthday today. That is particularly exciting, and we appreciate him coming down to help raise awareness about the importance of breast cancer on his birthday. He is a father of two. Prior to his election to Congress last year to fill an unexpired term of the former Speaker, he was a scientist, a very successful and learned scientist, and has added incredible expertise to the discussion and debate we have here in the House of Representatives, Mr. Foster from Illinois.

Thank you so much, and happy birthday.

It is now my privilege in the last couple of minutes before we yield back, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to yield time to the gentlewoman from northern California who is a passionate fighter on behalf of the causes that she and her constituents care about, Lynn Woolsey.

Thank you so much. As Ms. Woolsey steps away from the podium, I really want to acknowledge her leadership, particularly on young women breast cancer issues because prior to my introduction of the EARLY Act, she was one of the leading voices on breast cancer in young women, and we can't thank her enough.

Mr. Speaker, as our hour comes to a close, I want to thank Congresswoman Myrick for her leadership and her friendship. I think the point we want to make tonight is that although Breast Cancer Awareness Month is celebrated throughout the entire month of October, it is important for us to focus on breast cancer awareness and for women to focus on their breast health throughout the year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference report for the Energy and Water appropriations bill.

This bill commits $180 million in Federal funding for critical Everglades restoration projects. While it is less than the administration request and the House-funded level, it represents a firm commitment from this Congress. To be clear, we must move boldly forward in saving this unique national treasure. Time is our enemy, and we have delayed too long.

In 2000, Congress authorized the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan as a State-Federal partnership to restore the ailing River of Grass. However, to date, the State has outspent the Federal Government by more than 2 to 1.

Finally, after 8 years of inaction, we are beginning to meet our commitment--and I can't thank Chairman Pastor and Chairman Obey enough for their steadfast support of funding to restore the Florida Everglades to its once pristine state--with significant funding in the FY09 bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as well, and now in the FY10 legislation.

Chairman Obey, Chairman Visclosky and Chairman Pastor, your leadership on this effort will not be forgotten. It will preserve a national treasure for years and years to come so that my children and my children's children can enjoy the Florida Everglades. Today's bill is a positive step forward for the Everglades, and I hope it will spur further action in the next fiscal year.