The NBCC's voting scorecard rates Members of Congress on whether they supported the organizations five legislative priorities during the 108th Congress, which ran from 2003-2004. The NBCC's legislative priorities rated in the scorecard are: guaranteed access to quality health care for all; continued funding of the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program; enactment of the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act; enactment of the House version of the Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act with strong enforcement provisions; and enactment of the Access to Cancer Therapies Act. Lynch supported all of those priorities.
"The National Breast Cancer Coalition recognizes Congressman Stephen Lynch for his perfect score in the Coalition's 108th Congressional Voting Record," said Fran Visco, president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition. "He supported breast cancer research funding through the Department of Defense, research on possible environmental causes of breast cancer, and strong legislation ensuring that no one is discriminated against in health insurance and employment as a result of genetic information. His leadership is crucial and we look forward to continuing our work with Congressman Lynch in 2005 and beyond."
Upon receiving the award, Congressman Lynch said, "It has been a gratifying experience to work alongside the women and men of the National Breast Cancer Coalition and demand that our federal government invest the resources needed to prevent and effectively treat breast cancer. Like a lot of families, I’ve seen the trauma and devastation that occurs when a family member is diagnosed with breast cancer. Hopefully with increased levels of funding for breast cancer research and greater access to preventative care and the development of more effective treatments, I'm confident that we can find a way to cure this disease."
The NBCC is a grassroots organization dedicated to ending breast cancer through the power of action and advocacy. The organization is the nation's largest breast cancer advocacy group, with more than 600 member organizations and 70,000 individual members and supporters. Committed to ending breast cancer, NBCC and its sister organization, the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, work to educate and train individuals to be effective activists and to influence the public policies that affect breast cancer research and treatment. Additional information about NBCC and its legislative priorities can be found at www.stopbreastcancer.org.
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