Genetic Non Discrimination Information Act (GINA)

Thursday May 01, 2008

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a member of the Health Subcommittee, I thank my friend, the distinguished chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, for allowing me time under his leadership.

I am a proud cosponsor of this bill. I am pleased to see it moving forward after more than a decade of advocacy.

While researchers' ability to identify genetic markers for diseases has given hope and promise to millions of people regarding how to make more informed choices about their personal behavior, the promise of this breakthrough is hindered, as many of my colleagues have said, by well-founded fears of how information may be abused in the employment and insurance industries.

While many states, including my own home State of New York, have laws which prohibit discrimination in health insurance, and by employers based on genetic testing and information, it is clear that the laws are not fully comprehensive and that Federal action is necessary, certainly to make it more uniform across all 50 States.

Fear should not be a deterrent to knowledge. Disregarding available tests for fear of discrimination prevents citizens from making smarter, personalized choices about their own well-being. We know too much to subscribe to one-size-fits-all medicine. And once again, it should be our physicians, not our insurance companies, who influence our health care decisions.

This is a wonderful bill, very much overdue for enactment, years and years and years in the process. It's supported by hundreds of patient advocate groups, and will make a true impact on the health care of our Nation.

I urge all my colleagues to support the bill.