,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aibh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #c1      
#bjbe,mr4 ,warner 7for himself and ,mr4 
,kaine7 introduced the following bill2  
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,homeland ,security and  
,governmental ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to  
require the ,comptroller ,general of the
 ,united ,states to submit to ,congress 
a report on esophageal cancer with      
respect to the ,federal ,employees      
,health ,benefits ,program1 and for     
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,gerald ,e4    
,connolly ,esophageal ,cancer ,awareness
 ,act of #bjbe4  #b4 ,findings ,congress
 finds that-- 7#a7 esophageal cancer is 
the fastest increasing cancer among men 
in the ,united ,states2  7#b7 esophageal
 cancer is one of the fastest growing   
cancer diagnoses among all people of the
 ,united ,states1 with the incidence of 
esophageal cancer increasing by more    
than #gjj percent in recent decades2    

7#c7 esophageal cancer kills #a         
individual in the ,united ,states every 
#cf minutes every day2  7#d7 esophageal 
cancer is among the deadliest of        
cancers1 with only about #a in #e       
patients surviving #e years2  7#e7      
esophageal cancer has tripled in        
incidence among younger people of the   
,united ,states in recent decades2  7#f7
 esophageal cancer has low survival     
rates because it is usually discovered  
at advanced stages when treatment       
outcomes are poor2  7#g7 raising        
awareness about esophageal cancer       
empowers individuals to seek preventive 
care1 recognize symptoms1 and pursue    
early detection strategies2  7#h7       
survivors1 caregivers1 medical          
professionals1 and researchers have made
 tremendous strides in advancing        
treatment options and improving the     
quality of life for those affected by   
esophageal cancer2  7#i7 esophageal     
cancer can be prevented through early   
detection of its precursor1 ,barrett's  

esophagus1 which can be eliminated with 
curative outpatient techniques2  7#aj7  
research indicates that patients        
diagnosed with early-stage esophageal   
cancer have a significantly higher      
#e-year survival rate 7as high as #di   
percent7 compared to those diagnosed at 
later stages1 underscoring the critical 
need for enhanced screening and         
awareness2 and  7#aa7 as of ,december   
#bjbb1 the ,american                    
,gastroenterological ,association       
recommends screening with a standard    
upper endoscopy in individuals with #c  
or more established risk factors for    
,barrett's esophagus and esophageal     
adenocarcinoma1 including-- 7,a7 male   
sex2  7,b7 non-,hispanic ,white         
ethnicity2  7,c7 age of #ej years or    
older2  7,d7 a history of smoking1      
chronic gastrointestinal reflux disease1
 or obesity2 and  7,e7 a family history 
of ,barrett's esophagus or esophageal   
adenocarcinoma4  #c4 ,report by         
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    

,states  7a7 ,definition ,in this       
section1 the term ,program means the    
program carried out under chapter #hi of
 title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4  7b7  
,report ,not later than #a year after   
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall submit to ,congress a     
report that includes an evaluation of-- 
7#a7 the total impact of esophageal     
cancer-related health care spending     
under the ,program for individuals who  
are covered under the ,program and who  
are diagnosed with esophageal cancer2   
and  7#b7 how often individuals who are 
covered under the ,program1 and who have
 medical records indicating that those  
individuals are high-risk for esophageal
 cancer1 undergo screening for          
esophageal cancer according to          
established guidelines4