107th Congress

Breast Cancer and Envrionmental Research Act of 2001

H.R. 1723 and S. 830

Background

On May 3, 2001, Representative Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) and Senator Lincoln D. Chafee (R-RI) introduced H.R. 1723 and S. 830, the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2001. These bills would have expanded research on the relationship between environmental factors and the development of breast cancer by creating centers of excellence designed to study the issue.

During the introduction of S. 830, Senator Chafee expressed his concern about the lack of agreement within the scientific community about the relationship between environmental factors and breast cancer. On May 9, 2001, Senator Chafee and Representative Lowey, along with several of the bill's cosponsors, held a press conference to spur support for the legislation. Representative Lowey said that "while clusters of breast cancer patients have been identified across our country, science has not shown what causes women in certain areas to be at greater risk for breast cancer."

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

These bills would have required the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to make grants for the development and operation of not more than eight Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Centers of Excellence. These centers would have conducted research on environmental factors related to the etiology of breast cancer.

The measures would have required the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Centers of Excellence to maintain collaborations with community organizations in the geographic area surrounding each center, including those groups that represent women with breast cancer. Each center would have been formed from a consortium of institutions and would have been required to use innovative approaches and collaborations among scientists, health care professionals, and advocates from various disciplines.

In addition, H.R. 1723 and S. 830 would have required the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to oversee the peer-review process and provide funding and programmatic recommendations about the centers to the Director of NIEHS. The nine-member panel would have been composed of six physicians or health care professionals and three members of the general public who have either suffered from breast cancer or who represent an affected constituency. This panel would have been in addition to the standard NIH peer-review panels. (Standard NIH peer-review panels include the initial review groups or study sections and the NIH Institute and Center councils. Both legislatively mandated bodies were created to provide peer review.)

The legislation would have authorized the centers for up to 5 years (fiscal years [FYs] 2002 through 2007) and would have required the Director of NIEHS to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of centers, to the extent that this was possible. The measures would have authorized an appropriation of $30 million for each FY from 2002 to 2007.

Status and Outlook

H.R. 1723 was introduced by Representative Lowey on May 3, 2001, and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. On May 15, the bill was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. The measure had 199 cosponsors. S. 830, introduced on May 3 by Senator Chafee, was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The measure had 44 cosponsors.

Both bills were supported by the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC). On May 9, 2001, four Members of Congress (Representative Lowey, Representative Sue Myrick [R-NC], Senator Chafee, and Senator Harry Reid [D-NV]) held a press conference in conjunction with the NBCC to express support for passage of the legislation. No further action occurred during the 107th Congress.