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House of Representatives

Early Act Reauthorization of 2025

2026-07-20 Issue 118 Showing 1–7 of 7

Official Congressional Record ↗

Brett Guthrie

Republican

“I want to pass a bill about breast health education. It will spend taxpayer money.”

Brett Guthrie

Republican

“I want this bill to pass. It will spend taxpayer money on education and outreach. The government will train providers through the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC. Breast cancer is a big problem. This bill will try to fix it. We need to keep spending money on this.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4541, led by my colleagues Representatives Wasserman Schultz and Miller-Meeks. This bill reauthorizes funding for the Young Women's Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, which supports critical education, outreach, and provider training efforts through HHS, acting through the CDC to close the gaps between screening and detection of breast cancer in women under the age of 45 and those at high risk. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer death among American women, claiming the lives of roughly 42,000 women annually. The EARLY Act has played a significant role in increasing breast cancer awareness and prevention efforts, and we must vote today to ensure future generations of women continue to benefit from these efforts. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Diana DeGette

Democrat

“I want this bill to pass. Breast cancer is a big problem. 321,000 new cases and 42,000 deaths this year. Women under 50 get breast cancer too. Early detection is very important. Women have better survival rates when breast cancer is detected early. The EARLY Act raises awareness and educates about breast cancer. I want to keep spending money on it.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4541, the EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2025. Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women, with 321,000 new cases and 42,000 projected deaths just this year alone. While breast cancer is often thought of as affecting older women, younger women are often diagnosed too late, where treatment options are more limited and, frankly, outcomes are worse. Approximately 16 percent of all new breast cancer cases occur in women under the age of 50. The importance of early detection simply cannot be overstated. Women diagnosed at an early stage have survival rates exceeding 99 percent. However, that number can fall to 30 percent when breast cancer is detected at later stages. Despite these realities, younger women between the ages of 25 and 40 continue to face disproportionately high rates of aggressive breast cancers. The EARLY Act has helped drive national progress in breast cancer awareness, education, and prevention. H.R. 4541 reauthorizes these critical efforts. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Brian K. Fitzpatrick

Republican 3:50 p.m.

“I want this bill to pass. It helps detect breast cancer early. Early detection is good. My mom and sister had breast cancer. It's personal to me. This bill spends money on education and detection. It's bipartisan. I want more Americans to have access to early detection. I want taxpayers to spend on it.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his work in this regard. I am proud to co-lead this critical legislation, Mr. Speaker, to reauthorize the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young, or EARLY Act, a proven lifesaving initiative that promotes early detection and education for young and high-risk women. Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women, with over 300,000 new cases and 42,000 projected deaths in 2025. I have seen the power of early detection up close, Mr. Speaker. Both my mom and my sister are breast cancer survivors. This is a very, very personal issue. It shows how early detection is the most effective tool there is to improve outcomes. Also included in this legislation is the SCREENS for Cancer Act, which I am proud to co-lead. This legislation reauthorizes the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, expanding services to ensure more Americans, especially those who are low income or underinsured, can receive early lifesaving care. Mr. Speaker, passing H.R. 4541 is a critical step in ensuring that more Americans have access to early detection services and education. We can prevent needless suffering and needless loss of life. I thank my co-chair of the House Cancer Caucus, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, for leading the EARLY Act, and Representative Morelle for his work in leading the SCREENS for Cancer Act. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.

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Brett Guthrie

Republican 3:50 p.m.

“I want to cheer for my colleague. His mom and sister had breast cancer. His brother did too. His brother used to work here. I miss his brother. I want to say something nice about his family. I don't have much else to say.”

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Democrat 3:50 p.m.

“I want to cheer for my colleague. His brother had cancer. His brother used to work here. I miss his brother. I had breast cancer. It was bad. But I got better. I think the government should spend money on programs for young women with breast cancer. I passed a bill before to spend money on that. I want to pass the bill again. The bill will spend money on programs. The programs will help young women know about cancer. Some women have higher risk of cancer. The programs will help those women too. Doctors sometimes don't think young women get breast cancer. But they do. I want the government to spend money on programs to help young women with cancer. I am happy that other people want to help pass this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. To my colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick), I was proud to be elected in the same class as his late brother, Mike. He was a good and decent man, someone who always reached across the aisle. I was really fortunate to be able to serve with him and with the current Congressman Fitzpatrick. I thank him for continuing the fight against cancer with us. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, the Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or the EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2025. First, I thank Chairman Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone for their strong support of this legislation, because one in eight American women, as you have heard, will get breast cancer, and 42,000 are expected to lose their life from it this year. The earlier it is caught, the better our chances are to survive and beat it. When breast cancer is caught in its earliest stage, survival rates shoot up to 99 percent. Trust me. I know catching it early saved my life. Almost 18 years ago, when I was just 41 years old, I heard those four harrowing words: ``You have breast cancer.'' I can tell you, I remember feeling like I was being crushed by an anvil. Like many Ashkenazi Jewish women, I found out I carry the BRCA2 gene mutation, making me far more likely to get breast cancer and ovarian cancer during my lifetime, and far more likely for recurrence. After 15 months and many surgeries and tons of support from family and close friends, I was cancer-free. Finding it early saved my life, and now we have generational awareness of this genetic risk in my family. Millions of young women need these same tools, so once I was cancer- free, I passed the original EARLY Act, which became law in 2010. Since it first became law, breast cancer cases have steadily risen by 1.4 percent annually for women under 50, twice the rate of older women, and by as much as 3.5 percent in women between 20 and 29. The law created three CDC programs that helped young and high-risk women focus on breast cancer risks and address the reality of rising breast cancer rates in young women. The Bring Your Brave campaign amplifies stories to raise awareness in young women 18 to 44 about unique risks, signs, and symptoms. The Young Breast Cancer Survivors Program funds grants for nonprofits that provide support services and resources to boost patient survival and their quality of life. It also ensures healthcare providers know the unique challenges that breast cancer poses to young and high-risk women. Unfortunately, too many young women and high-risk women are dismissed by healthcare providers thinking, ``Oh, what you have is just a cyst,'' or, ``Young women don't get breast cancer.'' The bottom line is reauthorizing the EARLY Act saves women's lives, and I am proud to team up with Representatives Miller-Meeks, Castor, Fitzpatrick, Dingell, and Harshbarger, and Senators Klobuchar and Crapo, to make sure those resources are out there for all of us.

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Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Democrat 3:50 p.m.

“Cancer is bad. It can kill you. Some people have more chance to get it. We should spend money to detect cancer early. I want this bill to pass. I want the government to spend money on this problem.”

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