House Passes Hinchey-Sponsored Bill Recognizing the Importance of National Women's Health Week
Press Release
The House today approved a bipartisan resolution sponsored by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA), and Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) that expresses Congress' recognition of May 10-16, 2009 as National Women's Health Week. U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) helped the Senate pass a similar measure last week.
"Once again, Congress has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring that women live healthy lives," Hinchey said. "There is a lot of work that needs to be done in Congress to improve health care for women, but this resolution helps highlight some of the ways women can make healthy lifestyle choices on their own, including going for preventative health screenings, eating well, and making time for themselves to exercise and relax. As mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, or friends, women are looked to and admired as leaders of families and we should do everything we can in Congress to help encourage women to take the important steps needed to enjoy a long and healthy life with their loved ones. I'm pleased to have worked in a bipartisan fashion with my colleagues to get this measure recognizing the importance of National Women's Health Week passed in the House and Senate."
National Women's Health Week begins on Mother's Day annually and celebrates the efforts of national and community organizations as well as individuals who work to improve awareness of key women's health issues. The resolution recognizes the importance of preventing diseases that commonly affect women; calls on Americans to use Women's Health Week as an opportunity to learn about health issues that face women; calls on American women to receive preventative screenings from their health care providers; and recognizes the importance of federally-funded programs that provide research and collect data on common diseases in women.
This is the fourth time that Hinchey, Capps, Bono Mack, and Feingold have introduced resolutions recognizing National Women's Health Week. The National Council of Women's Organizations fully endorses the resolution on behalf of its 200 member organizations representing 10 million women nationwide.
Source