Letter from members of Congress to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and House Majority Leader John Boehner, September 27, 2006, regarding H.R. 5472, the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2006 (4 pages)

C o n g r e s s of the United States W a s h i n g t o n , DC 20515 September 27, 2006 The Honorable Dennis Hastert Speaker of the House U.S. Capitol Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable John Boehner House Majority Leader U.S. Capitol Washington, DC 20515 Dear Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Boehner, As women Members of Congress, we are writing to urge floor consideration of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2006 (H.R. 5472) before Congress adjourns for the year. H.R. 5472 was introduced in May 2006 by Congresswoman Sue Myrick with bipartisan support, and has garnered 118 cosponsors to date. For the past 15 years, the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program has helped low-income, uninsured, and underserved women gain access to potentially lifesaving screening for the early detection of breast and cervical cancer as well as education, outreach, case management and treatment services. Hundreds of thousands of women across the country are affected by breast and cervical cancer each year, as well as their families and loved ones. More than 212,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year and over 40,000 women will die from the disease. Nearly 10,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer this year, and about 3,700 women will die from the disease. While strides have been made in cervical cancer research this year, particularly with the Food and Drug Administration's approval of a human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, the virus which causes most cervical cancer cases, screening is still an incredibly important tool. As a result of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, nearly 6 million cancer screening examinations have been provided to more than 2.5 million women. The program has diagnosed more than 17,000 breast cancers, more than 60,000 precancerous cervical lesions, and over 1,100 cervical cancers. Early detection of breast and cervical cancers has a dramatic impact on survival. When detected at its earliest stages, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is nearly 98 percent, and the five-year survival rate for cervical cancer is more than 92 percent. Even though cancer screening tests are more widely available and help save women's lives, deaths from breast and cervical cancer occur more frequently among women who are uninsured or under-insured. As Members of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, which was instrumental in the establishment of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER in 1991, we believe this program is a vital component of the health care safety net in our country. Today, we continue the proud legacy of fighting to improve the health of all women in our country and ask that you schedule H.R. 5472 for floor consideration before the end of the 109th Congress. Sincerely, HILDA L. SOLIS Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues GINNY BROWN-WAITE Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues LOIS CAPPS, Co-Vice Chair, Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues TAMMyBALDWIN Member of Congress NANCY PELOSI House Democratic Leader SUE MYRICK Member of Congress 5A DeLAURO Member of Congress SHELLE1 Member ol OORE CAPIT ongress NITA LOWEY Member of Congress ANN DAVIS Member of Congress SHEILA JACKSON LEE Member of Congress KATHERTNE HARRI Member of Congress 'JAN SCHAKOWSKY lember of Congress LYm WOOLSEY Member of Congress Member of Congress MARCY Member ? 8ETTY MCCOJ|LUM Member of Congress JYDIA VELAZQUEZ Member of Congress cDONALD Member of Congress YA SANCHEZ Member of Congress CAROLYN McCARTIT Member of Congress ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON Member of Congress Member of DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ Member of Congress MELISSA BEAN Member of Congress GWEN Member CHRISTENSEN of Congress SUSAN DAVIS Member of Congress ,CE F. NAPOLfTANO Member of Congress 'CAROLfN CHEEKS KILPA^RICK Member of Con of Congress JUDY BIGGERT Member of Congress (s