Sheila Jackson Lee: “Let me thank Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member Visclosky for their devotion to the men and women of the Armed Forces…”

“Let me thank Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member Visclosky for their devotion to the men and women of the Armed Forces who risk their lives to keep our Nation safe. My amendment, and I appreciate the opportunity in presenting it, is identical to an amendment that I offered and was adopted last year to the Defense Appropriations Act of fiscal year 2018, H.R. 3219. My amendment increases funding for Defense Health Program research and development by $10 million. These funds will address the question of breast cancer in the United States military. Mr. Chairman, I am a breast cancer survivor, and the relief of the care and cure is one that you cannot imagine. Just imagine being in the United States military and being diagnosed. These funds are important to increase that research to help our men and women in the United States military. The American Cancer Society called several strains of breast cancer a particularly aggressive subtype associated with lower survival rates. In this instance, it is triple negative breast cancer. That is one that is deadly, more so than many other types, and I have seen close friends, my neighbor, succumb to triple negative breast cancer. This increased funding should be and, hopefully, will be utilized to do important research in that area. This was evidenced by an article, ``Fighting a Different Battle: Breast Cancer and the Military.'' Breast cancer can affect both men and women.…”