Louise Slaughter: “I rise to express some serious concerns about a section of the bill that has gone largely unnoticed, that dealing with…”

“I rise to express some serious concerns about a section of the bill that has gone largely unnoticed, that dealing with human papillomavirus virus, or HVP. First and foremost, I would like to express my strong support for the underlying bill. I am proud to be an original cosponsor on which this legislation is based. Our consideration of this measure is long overdue, and I commend my friend, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), for her hard work and perseverance in advancing it. My colleagues should be aware, however, of a troublesome provision that was added to H.R. 4386 in committee dealing with HPV issues. HPV is a group of viruses composed of over a 100 strains, of which approximately 30 are sexually transmitted. Recent research has shown that a few select strains appears to have precursors to cervical cancer. Promising research is being done on preventing and treating HPV as a method of reducing cervical cancer rates. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, this bill could damage our efforts to reduce HPV transmission and, by extension, cases of cervical cancer. During a markup, the language was added to the bill that directs the Department of Health and Human Services to outline further steps toward making HPV a reportable disease.”