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can look back and say that we have won the fight against cervical cancer.

  f DTV DELAY ACT SPEECH OF HON. PETER WELCH OF VERMONT IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, the question of whether to delay the transition to digital television is important and deserves thoughtful consideration. But today's debate misses a key point that will affect many Vermonters, many Americans, living in rural areas: once the transition to digital television is completed, even if every household in America has a DTV converter box, many TVs simply will not work.

  Reception of a digital television signal is an ``all-or-nothing'' proposal: rural areas that currently receive a weak analog TV signal may receive no digital signal at all. For many people across Vermont and across the country, this transition does not represent a step forward, but a step backward. I am particularly concerned about the many elderly viewers living in rural areas; for them, television is a lifeline that provides information and entertainment.

  We know that this problem is out there. In order to ensure that all our constituents have access to broadcast television, we need to do one or all of three things: increase digital television broadcast signal range; increase the ability of viewers to receive the signal through antennae; or increase access to low-cost cable or satellite television.

  If there were an easy answer, this problem would most likely have already been solved.

  But the problem persists, and it must be addressed. I look forward to working with Chairman WAXMAN as well as you, Chairman BOUCHER, to ensure that rural Americans maintain access to television broadcast over the public airwaves.

  f AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 SPEECH OF HON. RUSH D. HOLT OF NEW JERSEY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Wednesday, January 28, 2009 The House in Committee of the whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1) making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes: Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of Nadler, DeFazio, Lipinski, McMahon, Ellison Amendment to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This amendment would increase the overall capital transit funding in H.R. 1 to $12 billion by adding an additional $1.5 billion to the Rail Modernization formula program and an additional $1.5 billion to the transit New Starts program.

  According to the American Public Transportation Association, the $12 billion provided by

CERVICAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO OF CONNECTICUT IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, February 2, 2009 Ms. DELAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize January as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 11,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year in the U.S., resulting in nearly 3,900 deaths. At a time when proven prevention tools are available, it is especially tragic that any woman should die from this disease, yet cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Even for women who survive this disease, it often causes a significant emotional burden and can lead to early menopause and loss of fertility among women in their child-bearing years. And it affects women of all ages: While the majority of cervical cancers are detected in women between 35 and 64, more than 30 percent of cases are diagnosed in women younger than 34 and women over 65.

  Despite these sobering statistics, we have made significant progress in this country in reducing the burden of cervical cancer. Since the mid-20th century, deaths from cervical cancer have declined by an estimated 70 percent, due to the Papanicolaou (Pap) screening test. In 1990, Congress created the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program to improve timely access to screening and diagnostic services for low-income, uninsured, and underserved women. According to the Centers for Disease Control, since 1991 NBCCEDP-funded programs have diagnosed 2,161 invasive cervical cancers and 114,390 precursor cervical lesions, of which 42 percent were high-grade. More recently, researchers have identified HPV as the main cause of cervical cancer, and an HPV vaccine and screening test have been developed.

  The simple fact is that cervical cancer is almost completely preventable through vaccinations, Pap testing, and testing for the human papillomavirus (HPV). Yet, as with so many other diseases, cervical cancer often strikes those who are least able to take advantage of these tools: Those who have either never had a screening test (either a Pap test alone, or in combination with an HPV test), or have gone many years without one, are the most likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer. Unfortunately, in both the U.S. and around the world, this means that poor women, and those who face barriers to obtaining quality health care, are disproportionately affected by cervical cancer. And the disparities are huge: Hispanic women are twice as likely as white women to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and African-American women are twice as likely as white women to die of the disease. AsianAmericans, Native Americans, and women in certain areas of the U.S. are also at increased risk. Cervical cancer is an even greater burden outside of this country, with about 500,000 women diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, more than half of whom will die from this preventable disease.

  Let us redouble our commitment to ensuring that all women are educated about cervical cancer and have access to proven screening and diagnostic tools so that one January, we

INTRODUCTION OF THE GEORGES BANK PRESERVATION ACT HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY OF MASSACHUSETTS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Monday, February 2, 2009 Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, today I am reintroducing the Georges Bank Preservation Act in the 111th Congress because Georges Bank, America's most valuable fishery and one of our nation's most important marine areas, remains in the crosshairs of the oil and gas industry. Last year, as a result of opposition from the Bush Administration, the longstanding protections against drilling off the east and west coasts expired. As a result, the American people could now begin to see drill rigs as close as three miles to our beaches and in fragile ecosystems like Georges Bank.

  Allowing oil and gas drilling in Georges Bank would forever destroy this fragile ecosystem and our nation's most important fishery.

  In its final days in office, the Bush Administration issued a draft proposal to conduct offshore oil and gas leasing in the entire North Atlantic Planning area in 2013. This area comprises all federal waters off the coast of New England, including Georges Bank. We know that Georges Bank remains a top target of the oil industry and that is why we must take action to restore the longstanding protections for this special place.

  The Georges Bank Preservation Act would prohibit the federal government from allowing exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in Georges Bank. Protecting Georges Bank from drilling would affect less than 2 percent of federal land on the outer Continental Shelf. The legislation would also protect any areas designated as marine national monuments or national marine sanctuaries, such as the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts. The language in the Georges Bank Preservation Act has already passed the House last year in an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 236-189 as part of H.R. 6899.

  Georges Bank is the heart of the New England fishery and a key economic engine for the region. The Northeast fishery landings are valued at approximately $800 million annually and Georges Bank is the key to the region.

  New Bedford, Massachusetts is by far the most productive fishing port in the United States, in terms of value of catch, and has held that distinction for the last eight years. Its $268 million catch in 2007 was almost as much as catches from the second and third most valuable ports combined. New Bedford has been the number one fishing port for eight straight years.

  We must not let Big Oil claim one of New England's most important economic and environmental treasures. The Georges Bank Preservation Act will prevent the oil and gas industry from destroying this special habitat that is the heart of America's most precious fishery and a uniquely vital marine habitat.