Pelosi Remarks at Breast Cancer Awareness Month Reception

Contact: Drew Hammill/Evangeline George, 202-226-7616

Washington D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks today at the Breast Cancer Awareness Month reception hosted by Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Below are the Leader's remarks:

"Thank you very much. Thank you very much Madam Chair, and thank you for your leadership. Thank you for initiating this opportunity for us to come together – Democrats and Republicans, Members of Congress and staff, friends, leaders like Cokie Roberts – what an honor that you are here, Cokie. Thank you. And our special guests Marc Hurlbert and Stacy Lewis – Young Survival Coalition, women Chiefs of Staff.

"We've come together before on this ballfield, and that's a very happy occasion for us – because with men, it's Democrats versus Republicans, with the women, it's Democrats and Republicans together versus the press.

[Laughter]

"But nonetheless, the valuable comradery that springs from that cheering for each other on the baseball field is really a bonding experience for our Members. I had the privilege of having Cathy McMorris Rodgers be a part of our program when we welcomed the women Members of the Court, and I thank you for honoring us with your presence there – the highest-ranking woman in the Republican Caucus – a leader in so many ways, an articulate spokesperson for her point of view, and I love seeing her as a mom – so lovely. Thank you. Thank you so much, Cathy.

"But Cathy touched on so many things – the urgency, the number of people affected, the high percentage that is of our population – the fact that there is science that could help us address this – and whether it's scientific opportunity, we believe there is a moral responsibility to attract resources to that.

"There are other issues like mammography, which has been in the news so much and how – what those judgements are. But, what‘s really important is to have the focus on breast cancer awareness – the awareness of breast cancer, and the discussion of all of these things, I think, is a healthy one to hopefully make women healthier. I have four daughters – moms, the four of them are all moms and all the rest of that – every one of us knows that we are all one phone call, one diagnosis away from a life-changing message at the other end of the phone. It is – oh, you see my grandsons – this is Thomas and Paul – I warn you, they're trick-or-treating for UNICEF.

[Laughter]

"They're not too shy.

[Laughter]

"In any event, in any event, all of you – because your presence is a statement that you will bear witness. Breast cancer, all forms of cancer is a thief. It's a thief that just keeps robbing people of their health, of their future, of the stability of their families. Many women who obviously get breast cancer, some of them are moms, the hub of their families. So, it has an impact, as the Chairwoman said, to family members beyond just the person with the diagnosis.

"I'm really proud that Joe Biden talked about cancer in general and called for a ‘moon shot' on cancer. There's no reason we shouldn't make that decision to do just that. And we have over time – in the nineties, we all worked together to double the funding for NIH, 10 billion dollars that we added to the Recovery Act for NIH was a Republican initiative from Sen. [Arlen] Specter, then a Republican, in order to get some Republican votes for that bill. But over time, it's always been nonpartisan – not even bipartisan, nonpartisan. That's exactly where it should be because certainly those who are affected – nobody takes a measure of what party you belong to. It's an indiscriminate thief.

"So, it's pretty exciting in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month for us to come together. On these issues that relate to the wellbeing of women largely, the Women's Caucus of the Congress has acted in a bipartisan way. Its origins go back to stopping violence against women and then over the years, many of the health issues and other issues that relate to women have been a cause for us to come together.

"So, once again, I thank all of you for your advocacy, for your determination and, for some of you, your courage to be here as survivors. I look forward to hearing those messages. But again, I want to salute Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers for her leadership in this initiative. And yes, let us make it more than an annual event, but then we have our meetings in between to prepare for our meeting so we can really measure – you know, with all of these things we have a goal, we have our milestones and we measure the progress that we are making. And we are determined, working together that we will make progress.

"So, thank you all very much. And happy – I hope – Breast Cancer Awareness Month."

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