Boswell Submits Amendment to Study Incidence of Breast Cancer in Active Military and Veterans

Leonard Boswell

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Leonard Boswell submitted an amendment to the House Rules Committee for the National Defense Authorization Act that would commission a study on the incidence of breast cancer in members of the Armed Forces and veterans, and analyze contributing factors. The Rules Committee will consider the amendment tonight.

“There is significant anecdotal evidence that men and women who are serving or have served their country bravely are being diagnosed with breast cancer at an alarming rate, especially for their age,” said Boswell, who introduced legislation on this issue in the 111th Congress. “This Act would require the Department of Defense and VA to take the first step to determining if breast cancer is service-connected. As a veteran, who has experienced the physical aftershocks of intense combat, I want to make sure that every man and woman in our current Armed Forces is taken care of – mind and body. The soldiers returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing new types of battle wounds and, just as I fought for increased mental health services through the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention bill, I will fight for this study, too.”

Boswell also introduced two other amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act. The first expresses the Sense of Congress that the Department of Defense should give preferred consideration for contracts that utilize alternative, self-sufficient energy sources that reduce costs. He also introduced a substance abuse prevention amendment that would give the Secretary of Defense the authority to use revenues generated from alcohol and tobacco sales at military commissaries for substance abuse prevention programs.