U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) called for the advancement of legislation on Thursday to establish a commission that would work toward ending breast cancer by 2020.
The Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act, H.R. 1197, which has bipartisan support from 270 members of Congress, was introduced in 2015 and is awaiting a vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“Breast cancer is all too prevalent on Long Island and across our country,” Zeldin said. “Every 15 minutes in the United States, one woman dies from breast cancer and six more are diagnosed. In New York alone, over 2,400 women die annually from breast cancer and over 16,000 are diagnosed each year. This devastating disease must be stopped, which is why I proudly support, and am calling on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to advance, the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act, H.R. 1197, to help end breast cancer by 2020.”
The commission, established under the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act, would explore opportunities and ideas to end breast cancer, examine options that may have been overlooked, and recommend research projects that could lead to a cure for breast cancer.
“This is a widely bipartisan bill with over 270 cosponsors from over 40 different states,” Zeldin said. “This is a commonsense bill that would bring together leading researchers in the biomedical field, businesses, breast cancer advocacy groups and other research advocates to identify promising initiatives and ideas aimed at curbing the rise of breast cancer rates. This legislation also prioritizes the resources that are available and necessary to combat this disease. Since the bill was introduced last year, over 120,000 women have lost their lives to breast cancer, and an additional 240,000 have been diagnosed.”
Zeldin said that he would continue working to help advance the bill in an effort to help deliver cures to those suffering from breast cancer.