Buchanan Recognizes National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

“Finding a Cure is Within Our Reach”  

WASHINGTON — In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Rep. Vern Buchanan today called for passage of two bills aimed at combating the deadly disease. 

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the U.S with the exception of skin cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Too many families have experienced the heartbreak of losing a family member to breast cancer,” Buchanan said. “We recognize those courageous and heartbreaking fights this month.”

Buchanan urged passage of two bills aimed at fighting breast cancer: the 21st Century Cures Act and the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act.

The 21st Century Cures Act would increase funding for disease research at the National Institutes of Health by $1.75 billion a year for the next five years and speed up Food and Drug Administration approval for new drugs. 

With Buchanan’s strong support, the bill overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House in June of 2015 but stalled in the Senate.

“Finding a cure is within our reach,” Buchanan said. “Continued research and quicker development of new treatments could make a big difference.”

Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the 21stCentury Cures Act will be a top priority when Congress returns to Washington in November.

The American Cancer Society projects 246,660 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die in 2016.

Florida ranks second in the country only to California for the estimated number of breast cancer deaths in 2016. There will be more than 16,770 new diagnoses and approximately 2,880 deaths across the Sunshine State this year, according to the American Cancer Society.

Buchanan also urged passage of the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act. The legislation would create a panel of the nation’s top researchers and advocates with the goal of eradicating breast cancer by 2020. The bipartisan bill, which Buchanan co-sponsored, has been endorsed by the National Breast Cancer Coalition.

“Congress can honor the loved ones we’ve lost, those who have survived and those currently battling this disease by sending these two bills to the president’s desk,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan has been involved in efforts to fight breast cancer throughout his service in Washington. He was a co-sponsor of legislation that directed the CDC to implement a nationwide education and outreach campaign to highlight the breast cancer risks facing young women and women of higher-risk ethnic and racial backgrounds.

The Congressman also co-sponsored the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act, a bill that required the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a committee to make recommendations on knowledge gaps in the area of breast cancer and environmental research. The bill was signed into law by President Bush in 2008.