Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman, my dear friend from Missouri, for this opportunity to allow me to speak today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my friends and colleagues, including the gentlewoman from New York, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, in support of H.R. 2722, the Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act.

This bipartisan legislation supports research only and awareness with a new $1 gold minted coin, proceeds of which will benefit breast cancer research.

Mr. Speaker, breast cancer research is one of the most important pieces of research that the Federal Government and other organizations perform on behalf of the American people and people all around the world. This is going to allow, for the first time ever, for these congressionally approved coins to be minted in pink gold in honor of the fight against breast cancer.

Mr. Speaker, today, I wear this pin of the breast cancer fight. I applaud organizations all across the country that are not only trying to make progress in this issue, but are making sure that awareness about breast cancer and actual research to eliminate this deadly disease, that progress is being made. That is what the funds would do from private contributions of individuals all around the United States.

There will be approximately 231,840 cases--new cases--of breast cancer among women and 2,350 new cases of breast cancer in men this year alone. That means that every 13 minutes, a woman will die of breast cancer in the United States, making breast cancer the second leading cause of death in women in the United States.

I think it is important that we understand what we are trying to accomplish with this coin and this act today. The bottom line is that the United States Congress allows several organizations each year to be able to mint coins on behalf of highlighting the services that they offer to the American people.

It comes at no cost to the taxpayers of this country. As a matter of fact, the Treasury makes a small amount of money as a result of their doing the work.

Mr. Speaker, what will happen is that through this legislation today--that is very intricate and well understood--no money outside of any money that is brought to bear would be for anything other than breast cancer research. I am aware of the sensitivity of taxpayer money and how that might be used, but no taxpayer money would be used for this effort today.

I want to recognize not only the people in breast cancer research, but also many of the survivors all across this country who are recognizing that the awareness and highlighting this project and the money that would be brought to bear of how important that is.

I would say to my colleagues today that breast cancer research cannot be done entirely through taxpayer money. We are counting on outside money. This is allowing the American people to buy coins, just as we did when I handled the Boy Scout coin with the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts several years ago. People who were part of the Boy Scouts of America paid money in, and it helped us to sell the coin and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts.

That is exactly what this coin would do also. It would be money from citizens all across this country that would highlight breast cancer awareness and the research dollars that would come as a result of that. That is why we are here today, the incredible medical research that is improving the lives of those who are diagnosed and undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Mr. Speaker, I believe this is the right thing to do for breast cancer research, and I want to thank my colleague, Carolyn B. Maloney, who has been doing this bill, not only for the hard work necessary to get 290 Members of Congress to say we want to vote on this bill, but also the awareness that, if we will join ranks with millions of people who are back home in our congressional districts who want to see breast cancer be solved in our lifetime, that it means that it would be all of us across this country.

I want to thank the gentleman who is handling this on behalf of the Financial Services Committee, the gentleman from Missouri, for his great work. I think that this is an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill where the money will go 100 percent for research, not a dime of taxpayer dollars, and it is a well-understood process that is in the best interests of cancer research for our country.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman.

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