Tom Harkin: “I join Senator Mikulski and many of my colleagues today to support reauthorization of the Mammography Quality Standards…”

“I join Senator Mikulski and many of my colleagues today to support reauthorization of the Mammography Quality Standards Act. I want to especially commend Senator Mikulski for her invaluable leadership on this issue. She brought the problem of poor quality mammography screening to the Senate's attention several years ago and authored the historic legislation we are today reauthorizing. As many of you know, I lost my sisters at an early age because of breast cancer. This experience has helped to make me acutely aware of the need for research on and improved early detection of breast cancer. I've always thought if they had had access to quality mammography screening, they would be alive with us today. Starting in 1990, as chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, I worked with Senator Mikulski and others to start and fund a program at the CDC to provide screening for lower income women without insurance. And in 1992, I offered an amendment to dedicate $210 million in the Defense budget for breast cancer research. Because of this legislation, funding for breast cancer research has been included in the Defense Department budget every year since 1992, and will be included again in Fiscal Year 1998. It is clear that if we are to win the war on breast cancer we must continue to support research on improved treatments, but we must also ensure that breast cancer is detected early enough to apply these treatments effectively.”