WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) this week to reintroduce bipartisan legislation to help end breast cancer by creating a clearinghouse and catalyst for research, public-private partnerships and trans-disciplinary collaboration.
“Many families in West Virginia and across America have been affected by breast cancer, and I am no exception. My mother-in-law, Ruth Eskew Capito, died tragically at age 51 after being diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Capito. “We must direct our limited research dollars to funding the most promising breast cancer research, and this bill does just that. I am pleased to join members from both sides of the aisle as we work to end this heartbreaking disease.”
The Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2015, S. 746, would establish a “Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer” to help end breast cancer by 2020. The commission would identify promising research, encourage partnerships between the public and private sectors and create opportunities for trans-disciplinary collaboration that may advance the mission of ending breast cancer. As a measure of accountability, the commission would be subject to termination after three years if it doesn’t show progress toward meeting its goals.
An estimated 232,670 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed and an estimated 40,000 deaths from the disease occurred in 2014, according to the National Cancer Institute. An estimated 2,899,726 women were living with breast cancer in the United States in 2011.
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