U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th) Weekly E-Newsletter
May 6, 2008
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For more information, please visit http://judybiggert.house.gov/.
In this Week's E-Newsletter:
- This Week in Congress
- Week in Review
- Featured Story
- From the Press Desk
- In Her Own Words
- In the News
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This Week in Congress:
Congress meets this week for legislative business, including possible consideration of:
H.R. 5818 – The Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008
H.Res. 1113 – A resolution celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day
H.R. 3221 - The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008
H.R. 5872 -- The Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act
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Week in Review:
Monday, April 28, 2008 through Friday, May 2, 2008
Congress met last week for legislative business, including consideration of:
H.R. 493 -- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. This bill would prevent discrimination in employment and health insurance on the basis of a genetic test. Rep. Biggert is the lead GOP cosponsor of this bill. Passed the House by a vote of 414 to 1. Rep. Biggert voted yes.
H.R. 5715 -- The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008. This bill aims to ensure that students can continue to access credit for student loans by allowing the Department of Education to purchase some loans and by raising federal student loan limits. Passed the House by a vote of 388 to 21. Rep. Biggert voted yes.
S. 2739 -- Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. This is a package of 62 bills relating to energy, national park, public land, territorial and water issues. It includes Rep. Biggert’s bill, H.R. 85, the Energy Technology Transfer Act, which will help move energy and efficiency technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. Passed the House by a vote of 291 to 117. Rep. Biggert voted yes.
H.R. 4332 -- Financial Consumer Hotline Act of 2007. This bill establishes a single, nationwide hotline for consumers to contact the government regulators of banks and other financial service providers in order to file complaints or ask questions. Rep. Biggert is a cosponsor of this bill. Passed the House by a vote of 408 to 1. Rep. Biggert voted yes.
H. RES. 1079 -- Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month 2008. This resolution raises awareness about the importance of financial education and recognizes April as Financial Literacy Month. Rep. Biggert is the lead GOP cosponsor of this resolution. Passed the House by a vote of 402 to 2. Rep. Biggert voted yes.
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Featured Story – Two Biggert Bills Head to the White House for President’s Signature:
Judy and other members field questions from reporters about her genetics bill. Pictured left to right are Rep. Andrews, Rep. Slaughter, Sen. Kennedy; Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, Rep. Biggert, and Rep. Eshoo.
Washington, DC – This was a busy legislative week for Biggert, with the House voting to send two of her signature bills to the White House. First, the House approved Biggert’s H.R. 85, Energy Technology Transfer Act, which will help move energy and efficiency technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. It directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to create a network of centers throughout the United States that will help businesses large and small to adopt high-tech, energy-saving technologies and techniques.
“The DOE and national labs such as Argonne have developed energy technologies that hold great promise for reducing our reliance on foreign sources of energy," said Biggert, who serves on the House Science and Technology Committee. "The federal government spends billions of dollars on energy-related research and development (R&D;). Let’s move them out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.”
H.R. 85 passed the House last March, and was incorporated into S. 2739, a package of bills relating to energy, national park, public land, territorial and water issues. S. 2739 passed the House by a vote of 291 to 117 and will now go to the President for his signature. To read more about it, click here.
The House also sent to the President H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008, a bill Biggert has been working on for over seven years. Once signed into law, this landmark legislation will prevent discrimination by employers or health insurance companies on the basis of a person’s genetic information.
“This bill unlocks the great promise of the Human Genome Project by alleviating the most common fear about genetic testing," said Biggert. "It will accelerate research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and allow Americans to finally realize the benefits and health care savings offered by gene-based medicine.”
Studies show that 84% of Americans are concerned that health insurance companies would deny coverage based on genetic information, and 69% of Americans believe employers would deny them jobs because of genetic test results. As a result, few people utilize genetic testing to find out their risk of suffering from specific diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. With this information, individuals can take steps to mitigate this risk. Fear of genetic tests also slows clinical trials and hinders cutting-edge research on cures for genetic diseases.
“No one should fear for their job or health coverage because of the genes they were born with, and now they won’t have to,” said Biggert.
Identical to H.R. 1227, a bill Biggert introduced during the last Congress, H.R. 493 was introduced by Slaughter with Biggert as the lead Republican cosponsor. GINA passed the House last April by a vote of 420 to 3 and passed the Senate last week by a vote of 95 to 0. Because the Senate made minor changes to the bill, it was returned to the House, where it passed last week by a vote of 414 to 1. To read more about it, click here.
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From the Press Desk:
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Biggert’s Energy Tech Transfer Bill Heads to the White House
Washington, DC – The House today sent to the President U.S. Representative Judy Biggert’s (R-IL-13th) legislation to help move energy and efficiency technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.
“The Department of Energy (DOE) and national labs such as Argonne have developed energy technologies that hold great promise for reducing our reliance on foreign sources of energy," said Biggert, who serves on the House Science and Technology Committee. "The federal government spends billions of dollars on energy-related research and development (R&D;). Let’s move them out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.”
To read more, click here.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Biggert-Slaughter Genetics Bill Heads to White House
Washington, DC – The House today passed U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert’s (R-IL-13th) and U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter’s (D-NY-28th) Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), clearing the bill for the President’s signature. This landmark legislation will prevent discrimination in employment and health insurance on the basis of a genetic test.
“Americans are now just a signature away from reaping the benefits of breakthrough genetic research,” said Biggert. “Make no mistake: this bill will dramatically reduce health care costs while saving or extending human lives.”
To read more, click here.
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In Her Own Words:
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Floor Statement of U.S. Representative Judy Biggert on H.R. 493,
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which will prohibit health insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic information.
As many of my colleagues are aware, this legislation has been around for quite some time. I have been working on it for more than seven years and Congresswoman Slaughter has been working on it for more than twelve years. It’s been a long road, and there have been many times when I thought this day would never come.
Over this period of time, I’ve heard stories from my constituents and other individuals across the country about how genetic discrimination was affecting their lives. Quite simply, they are stories of how our laws have failed to keep pace with medical science.
A breast cancer survivor in Chicago told me that even though her doctor recommended that she undergo a genetic test to see if she had a 60 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer, she refused the test. It’s not that she didn’t want to know - quite the opposite, she desperately wanted to know. She told me she refused the test because she feared an adverse result would cause her to lose her job. She is not alone; studies show 85 percent of Americans fear employers will use genetic information to discriminate.
A woman from Missouri whose sister had suffered from cancer was cautioned by her doctor that undergoing genetic testing could cause her to lose her health insurance. She too chose not to undergo genetic testing. She also is not alone; studies show 84 percent of Americans express concern that health insurance companies would deny coverage based on genetic information.
A man with a family history of PKD decided to take a genetic test, but chose to use an alias and pay cash rather than bill his insurance just to keep this information out of his medical file. He also is not alone. Twenty-six percent of Genetic Counselors themselves admit they would use an alias, and 68 percent said they would pay out-of-pocket to protect themselves from discrimination.
The dean of a prominent university in Massachusetts told me that fear of genetic discrimination was hindering clinical trials, slowing the development of lifesaving technologies. At NIH, fear of genetic discrimination is the most common reason people cite for not participating in clinical trials on breast and colon cancers.
Mr. Speaker, I’ve heard these stories over and over again from individuals wanting to know their genetic risk of developing diseases as far-ranging as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Tay-sachs, and PKD.
The sad fact is that these individuals are avoiding genetic testing that would empower them with information that could save their lives.
So I want to let all these people know that when the House passes GINA today, we will be one step away from realizing the medical benefits of genetic testing. One step away from ensuring people will be able to take a genetic test without risking their job and health insurance. One step away from ensuring patients can stop using aliases and paying out-of-pocket to keep their genetic tests secret. One step away from ensuring individuals will be able to participate in genetic clinical trials without fear of discrimination.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me that by passing GINA and freeing people from fear of genetic discrimination, we can unlock the tremendous life-saving and cost-saving potential of genetic research. More Americans will participate in genetic clinical trials and more Americans will use these technologies to improve their health. And with these improvements comes the prospect of dramatically reducing the chronic care costs that are crippling our healthcare system.
We now have more than 500 different health, advocacy and business organizations supporting this bill, and recent surveys show 93 percent of Americans believe that employers and insurers should not be able to use genetic information to discriminate.
With numbers like these, it should be no surprise that the House passed this bill last April 420 to 3, the Senate passed it last week 95 to 0, and the President is expected to sign the measure into law.
I want to take a moment to thank Representatives Slaughter, Walden and Eshoo and Senators Snowe, Kennedy and Enzi for all of their hard work on this issue; it has truly been a pleasure working with all of them. I would also like to thank Mr. McKeon, Mr. Miller and all of the other Chairman and Ranking Members for all of their efforts. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Sharon Terry and the Coalition for Genetic Fairness as well as all of our other organization supporters for all of their persistence and expertise on this issue.
Finally, I want to thank all the staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes on our behalf and who put in long hours on this legislation. In particular, my thanks go to Michele Varnhagen and Jim Paretti from the Education and Labor Committee staff, Michelle Adams of Mrs. Slaughter’s staff and Brian Petersen of my staff.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I would urge all my Colleagues to vote for the measure and reserve the balance of my time.
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In the News:
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Reuters
By Will Dunham
Congress Votes to Ban Genetic Discrimination
WASHINGTON -- A landmark bill to forbid discrimination against people whose genetic information shows a predisposition to certain illnesses won final U.S. congressional approval on Thursday.
Thirteen years after such legislation was first introduced, the House of Representatives passed the bill, 414-1, and sent it to President George W. Bush, who has promised to sign it into law. The Senate approved the bipartisan measure last week, 95-0.
The bill would bar health insurers from rejecting coverage or raising premiums for healthy people based on personal or familial genetic predisposition to develop a particular disease such as cancer, diabetes, heart ailments or many others.
In addition, it would prohibit employers, unions and employment agencies from using genetic information in hiring, firing, pay or promotion decisions. It would also forbid health insurers from compelling a person to take a genetic test.
Backers of the measure said people have declined genetic tests that could help lead to treatment of their ailments out of fear they could lose their jobs or insurance coverage.
"By prohibiting the improper use of genetic information, Americans will be encouraged to take advantage of the tremendous life-altering potential of genetic research," said Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, chief sponsor of the bill. "This legislation marks the beginning of a new era."
Rep. Judy Biggert of Illinois, lead Republican sponsor of the bill, said, "No one should fear for their job or health coverage because of the genes they were born with, and now they won't have to."
"Make no mistake: this bill will dramatically reduce health care costs while saving or extending human lives," Biggert said.
Opposed by some business groups, various versions of the legislation had languished in Congress since 1995. But this year, it won broad support on and off Capitol Hill.
The legislation has the backing of the White House and health insurers, although it is opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents 3 million small and big businesses.
Scientific and health organizations hailed the House action, saying the legislation will help combat discrimination as well as diseases.
Dr. David Herrington, a representative of the American Heart Association, said: "With this measure ... we expect more Americans will participate in genetic research and accept genetically directed strategies for treatment and prevention that will ultimately reduce the tremendous burden of heart disease, stroke and many other diseases in the U.S."
Research increasingly is revealing the genetic underpinning of many diseases. Scientists have developed numerous genetic tests to assess people's predisposition to various ailments.
The measure is intended to guarantee that results of these tests are not used against people by employers or insurers not willing to shoulder the high cost of treating some diseases.
Doctors can administer a variety of genetic tests and many companies are now offering them direct to consumers, typically at a cost of hundreds of dollars or more.
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For more information, please visit http://judybiggert.house.gov/. |