Dianne Feinstein: “I rise today to thank very much all of my colleagues for their support in extending the Breast Cancer Research Stamp for…”

“I rise today to thank very much all of my colleagues for their support in extending the Breast Cancer Research Stamp for another 2 years. This bill has the strong bipartisan support of Senator Hutchison and 68 other Senators from both sides of the aisle. Without congressional action, this extraordinary stamp is set to expire on December 31 of this year. During the past 7 years, the U.S. Postal Service has sold over 650 million semipostal breast cancer stamps--raising $47.4 million for breast cancer research. These dollars allow the National Institutes of Health, NIH, and the Department of Defense, DOD, to conduct new and innovative breast cancer research. So far the NIH has received approximately $31 million and the DOD about $13 million for breast cancer research--helping more people become cancer survivors rather than cancer victims. In addition to raising much needed funds, this wonderful stamp has also focused public awareness on this devastating disease and provided hope to breast cancer survivors to help find a cure. The breast cancer research stamp is the first stamp of its kind dedicated to raising funds for a special cause and remains just as necessary today as ever. For example: breast cancer is considered the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in every major ethnic group in this country; over 2 million women in the U.S.…”