The U.S. Senate has advanced a bipartisan amendment offered by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to allocate $10 million toward mobile mammography services for United States female military veterans.
Amendment No. 0224, which is now included in the Senate’s version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), S. 2226, was offered by Sen. Blackburn and U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV).
“Access to breast cancer screenings saves lives, but many female veterans often have to wait months, drive far distances, or run into barriers when they need a mammogram,” Sen. Blackburn said on Monday. “With the passage of this amendment, we are ensuring that the women who have served our nation have greater access to regular mammograms — a critical component of their care.”
Breast cancer is a leading cancer for American women and the senators cited a recent National Library of Medicine study showing that women veterans were nearly three times more likely to develop breast cancer than the rest of the population, according to information provided by Sen. Blackburn’s office.
“Women veterans have risked so much to protect our country, including their health, and these heroes deserve access to the best medical services,” said Sen. Rosen. “I’m proud to work in a bipartisan way to increase access to quality mammography services and cancer screenings for our veterans.”