{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://payne.house.gov/press-release/payne-requests-presidential-proclamation", "Payne Requests Presidential Proclamation", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Donald Payne", "P000604", "payne.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10) authored and sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting he issue a presidential proclamation designating March 2014 National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. \u00a0One-hundred and forty-six Members of Congress signed onto the letter in support of Rep. Payne, Jr.\u2019s efforts.\n\u00a0\nEarlier this year, Rep. Payne, Jr. introduced House Resolution 69 designating March 2013 as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Please see the letter to President Obama below:\n\u00a0\nDecember 16, 2013\n\u00a0\nPresident Barack Obama\nThe White House\n1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW\nWashington, DC 20500\n\u00a0\nDear Mr. President:\n\u00a0\nEvery March the colorectal cancer community honors those who are fighting or have lost their battle with colorectal cancer by holding special events to raise awareness about the disease, including symptoms, risk factors, and screening tests. We ask that you join us in spreading the message about colorectal cancer prevention and early detection by issuing a proclamation designating March 2014 as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.\n\u00a0\nDespite being one of the most preventable types of cancer, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women in the United States and costs our health care system approximately $14 billion annually. The lifetime risk of getting colorectal cancer is one in 20. This year, an estimated 135,000 individuals in the United States will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and more than 50,000 individuals will die from the disease.\n\u00a0\nColorectal cancer is largely preventable thanks to effective screening tools. Yet, one in three adults between the ages 50 and 75 are not up to date with recommended colorectal cancer screenings. Patients with localized colorectal cancer have a five-year survival rate of 90 percent, but only 39 percent of all diagnoses occur at this stage due, in part, to the underuse of screenings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that if every individual aged 50 or older had regular screening tests, as many as 60 percent of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented. However, there is a great need to increase education and awareness about screenings.\n\u00a0\nLack of education and awareness are the biggest barriers to reducing death and suffering from colorectal cancer. While more than 90 percent of colorectal cancer cases are diagnosed in those aged 50 and older, anyone at any age can get colorectal cancer. Knowing the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer is critical to an early diagnosis and timely medical intervention. Through education and awareness, we can erase the myths, stigma and embarrassment that are sometimes associated with colorectal cancer and screening, and we can remind the American public about healthy lifestyles that reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and other diseases.\n\u00a0\nThank you for considering our request for a proclamation designating March 2014 as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.\n\u00a0\nSincerely,\n\u00a0\nDonald M. Payne, Jr.\nRobert Andrews\nRon Barber\nKaren Bass\nJoyce Beatty\nDan Benishek\nSanford Bishop\nEarl Blumenauer\nRobert Brady\nSusan Brooks\nCorrine Brown\nJulia Brownley\nG.K. Butterfield\nLois Capps\nMichael Capuano\nMatthew Cartwright\nAndre Carson\nKathy Castor\nJason Chaffetz\nDonna Christensen\nYvette Clarke\nWilliam Lacy Clay\nEmanuel Cleaver\nJames Clyburn\nHoward Coble\nMike Coffman\nGerald Connolly\nJohn Conyers\nJim Cooper\nJoe Courtney\nAnder Crenshaw\nJoseph Crowley\nElijah Cummings\nDonna Edwards\nKeith Ellison\nElliot Engel\nSam Farr\nChaka Fattah\nMichael Fitzpatrick\nLois Frankel\nRodney Frelinghuysen\nMarcia Fudge\nDanny Davis\nSusan Davis\nPeter DeFazio\nTheodore Deutch\nRosa DeLauro\nCharles Dent\nMichael Doyle\nTulsi Gabbard\nSam Graves\nScott Garrett\nAl Green\nRaul Grijalva\nTrey Gowdy\nLuis Gutierrez\nAlcee Hastings\nBrian Higgins\nRuben Hinojosa\nMichael Honda\nRush Holt\nSteven Horsford\nSteve Israel\nDarrell Issa\nShelia Jackson Lee\nHakeem Jeffries\nEddie Bernice Johnson\nWilliam Keating\nRobin Kelly\nJoseph Kennedy\nDaniel Kildee\nDerek Kilmer\nRon Kind\nPeter King\nAnn Kuster\nRaul Labrador\nLeonard Lance\nBarbara Lee\nSander Levin\nJohn Lewis\nFrank LoBiondo\nBilly Long\nAlan Lowenthal\nMichelle Lujan Grisham\nDaniel Maffei\nCarolyn Maloney\nSean Maloney\nBetty McCollum\nJames McGovern\nMark Meadows\nPatrick Meehan\nGregory Meeks\nGwen Moore\nJames Moran\nPatrick Murphy\nJerrold Nadler\nJanet Napolitano\nRichard Neal\nEleanor Holmes Norton\nFrank Pallone\nBill Pascrell\nEd Perlmutter\nColin Peterson\nThomas Petri\nTed Poe\nJared Polis\nNick Rahall\nCharles Rangel\nTom Rice\nCedric Richmond\nDavid Roe\nDana Rohrabacher\nEdward Royce\nJon Runyan\nBobby Rush\nLinda Sanchez\nJames Sensenbrenner\nJose Serrano\nTerri Sewell\nJanice Schakowsky\nAdam Schiff\nBobby Scott\nDavid Scott\nAlbio Sires\nLouise Slaughter\nChris Smith\nJackie Speier\nEric Swalwell\nMark Takano\nBennie Thompson\nGlenn Thompson\nMichael Thompson\nJohn Tierney\nDina Titus\nPaul Tonko\nNiki Tsongas\nChris Van Hollen\nJuanVargas\nMarc Veasey\nFilemon Vela\nNydia Velazquez\nJackie Walorski\nMaxine Waters\nFrederica Wilson\nTed Yoho\nDon Young\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://payne.house.gov/press-release/payne-requests-presidential-proclamation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5144851058721542, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}