Herb Kohl: “I rise today, as Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, to urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring S.…”

“I rise today, as Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, to urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring S. 757, the Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act. It has long been believed that the environment plays some role in the development of breast cancer, but the extent of that role is not understood. Today, less than 30 percent of breast cancers are explained by known risk factors. There are studies exploring the effect of things like diet, pesticides, and electromagnetic fields on breast cancer incidence, but in most cases, these and many other environmental factors that are also suspected to play a role have not been fully investigated. We need a collaborative, comprehensive, national strategy to explore these issues. The Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act would create a uniquely targeted research plan, similar in design to the incredibly efficient Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program. This bill would authorize $30 million a year for 5 years for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIEHS, to award grants to study the relationship between environmental factors and breast cancer. Under a competitive, peer-reviewed grantmaking process that involves patient advocates, the NIEHS Director would award grants for the development and operation of up to eight centers for the purpose of conducting multidisciplinary research.…”