On May 19, the House passed, by voice vote, H. Con. Res. 120, a resolution supporting National Women’s Health Week, May 10-16, 2009. Sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), the resolution “calls on the people of the United States to use National Women’s Health Week as an opportunity to learn about the health issues women face; calls on the women of the United States to observe National Women’s Check-Up Day by receiving preventive screenings from their health care providers; and recognizes the importance of federal, state, and private programs that provide research and collect data on common diseases in women.”
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) said, “This year marks the 10th anniversary of National Women’s Health Week. It’s an opportunity to recognize the progress made in women’s health. Much of this progress is due to the offices of women’s health in multiple key federal agencies. These offices work to promote research on women’s health issues and the provision of important women’s health services. In fact, the Office on Women’s Health at the Department of Health and Human Services just celebrated 10 years of the womenshealth.gov web site. What this resolution rightly notes is that women’s health issues matter throughout a woman’s lifespan. Promoting health education among girls and women of all ages will increase healthy behaviors and the use of important preventive screenings and services. This resolution also notes that there are significant disparities among women of different racial and ethnic backgrounds and women with disabilities, all of which must be considered and taken into account as we address women’s health.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said, “This nationwide initiative empowers women across the country to make their health a top priority and ensure they take the steps to live a longer, healthier, and happier life. And certainly, we are so pleased that there is that emphasis on women’s health and having women make the decision to have their health and their well-being be a top priority in their life. I would like to express my gratitude to the national and community organizations in working to promote public awareness of National Women’s Health Week and provide the proper information to encourage women and girls that healthy habits should begin at a very young age. The efforts of the national community to support regular checkups and preventive screenings will help to prevent diseases that commonly affect women.”
