| DrBlumenthal’s Introduction ofCongresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY)

Congresswoman Nita Lowey of NewYork has long been a champion of women and for women’shealth. Now in her fourth term, she is the Democratic Co-chair ofthe Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues, which was amajor collaborator on this conference.

Congresswoman Lowey has made ither business to improve women’s health through her nationalleadership. In her key position on the House Labor, Health andHuman Services and Education Subcommittee of the AppropriationsCommittee in the House of Representatives, she has beeninstrumental in ensuring funding for women’s health issuesand that women’s health stays at the forefront of ourNation’s health care agenda.

Thank you, Congresswoman Lowey,for your outstanding national leadership and for your dedicatedefforts to improve the health of American women.

Congresswoman NitaLowey(D-NY)

Thank you very much, and thank youand your staff for the outstanding work you are doing. In thisCongress, the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues isprobably the best example of bipartisanship. Congresswoman ConnieMorella, the other co-chair of the Caucus, is terrific, and ithas really been a pleasure for me to work with her and otherwomen and good men of like mind on these issues.

When I first arrived in Congressin 1988 and started learning about the National Institutes ofHealth, there were only 3 gynecologists on the staff and even theclinical trials were done only in male rats. We realized that wehad a lot of work to do, and it has been a combined effort.

Dr Blumenthal, you have done asuperb job with these conferences, and I think they are veryvital to the whole process.

The purpose of the *HealthyWomen 2000* series is to provide women with the information weneed to live long, productive, and healthy lives, and informationis power—we have learned that. Autoimmune illnesses togetherare the fourth leading cause of disability in women. How does thefemale autoimmune system differ from the male autoimmune system?Why are women more susceptible to autoimmune diseases such asmultiple sclerosis, scleroderma, and lupus? What role do hormonesplay in the process of these diseases? You will receive answersto these and many other questions today.

The conference comes on the eve ofthe House Committee mark-up of legislation to fund NIH for thecoming year. I have the honor of sitting on the subcommitteewhich sets the funding priorities for the nations’ healthproblems. This committee reflects bipartisanship and I am pleasedthat under the leadership of John Porter, the subcommittee isexpected to provide increased funding for NIH. But I thinkit’s important to note that while the increase is there itwill not be that large, and it’s just a few percentagepoints above inflation. And I know if it’s up toCongresswoman Morella and Congressman Porter and myself and manyof the members of like mind, we would see even a greaterincrease, because that kind of investment really makes adifference. Increased funding allows the important research onautoimmune diseases at the Institute for Allergy and InfectiousDiseases, the Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal andSkin Diseases, and elsewhere at NIH to move forward.

Women’s health needs wereneglected for a very long time. I know that maybe even some inthis audience, respected scientists, look at me every year at themark-up and say let the NIH make all the decisions. They believethat members of Congress shouldn’t be setting thepriorities. There may even be some people in the room who feelthat way. We’re saying when we catch up, when the attentionthat is given to so many other diseases is given to the specificillnesses that affect women, then maybe our voices will not needto be as loud.

As a step in that direction, theCongressional Caucus on Women’s Issues introduced theWomen’s Health Equity Act, which is an omnibus package ofover 30 bills designed to improve women’s health researchand services. Among the many initiatives in the Women’sCaucus package is a bill to provide $30 million for research onlupus, a disease you’ll learn more about today.

In closing, I just want to thankall of you for your activism, thank you for all the help you giveus. I think it is important to know that although it’s anhonor and a privilege for a member like myself from New York tochampion these issues on the committee, you and the women ofAmerica are the power. You are the energy that makes thedifference. The reason that we’ve seen increased investmentsin women’s health research, the reason we’ve seenincreases in breast cancer research among the other illnesses, isbecause of the activism of women and good men around the nationwho are saying we’re not satisfied, this is not enough. Wehave to continue to move forward so we can remove the scourge ofthese terrible illnesses that affect women and their families.

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