Connie Morella: “Mr. Speaker, to honor Mother's Day on May 14, with passage of this bill, H.R. 4386, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Act…”

“Mr. Speaker, to honor Mother's Day on May 14, with passage of this bill, H.R. 4386, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Act, we will celebrate another step forward to stop the violence of cancer against women. I want to congratulate the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), certainly the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick), and the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. Danner) who have indicated their own personal experiences have shown the need for this bill. The legislation will provide treatment for low-income, uninsured working women who are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer. Today the program provides screening for breast or cervical cancer but does not provide treatment. This must change. This bill will do it. However, Mr. Speaker, while I strongly support this overall bill and its potential for saving lives, I am troubled with the provision on HPV and concerned that the proposed language could be problematic from a public health perspective. I hope the provision will be dropped in conference. H.R. 4386 deserves to be passed unanimously by this body. Because, indeed, if we offer screening, we must offer treatment.”