Madame Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge American Heart Month, currently being observed throughout February.

I anticipate that many of my colleagues will attend events in their district commemorating Heart Month.  I will and I urge you to pay special attention to the effect of heart disease on women.

The good news is that heart disease deaths are beginning to decline among women.

The bad news remains, though, that heart disease is still the number one killer of women in this country.

And although awareness among women about their risks for heart disease is increasing, awareness remains particularly low among minority women.

Please take the opportunity during American Heart Month to talk to the women in your lives about their risks for heart disease and the preventive steps they can take to decrease their risks.

I yield back.

Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.