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Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor to recognize and honor an exceptional Oregonian. For 27 years, Kathy Ottele has served as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society and has been instrumental to the work and accomplishments of this unique organization.

The mission to eradicate cancer is deeply personal to Kathy. She is a seven-time skin care survivor, and she lost her dad, her mom, and her two younger sisters to this horrible disease. Kathy understands the importance of sharing her story.

From local community events to the halls of government in both Oregon and the Nation's Capital, she has made it her personal mission to connect with as many people as possible about the critical work at the American Cancer Society.

I have personally seen through my time with Kathy how her advocacy has helped families in a very positive way. Oregonians will long feel the positive impact of her tireless dedication to finding a cure for cancer. At home, we call it the Oregon Way.

She has also made it a personal priority to raise awareness and funding for the cause each year. I could stand here all day and announce a long list of things she has achieved during her 27 years of service. I will name just a few.

Through her efforts, she has consistently been one of the American Cancer Society's top fundraisers. Last year, she raised over $17,000 for this cause. In recognition of her steadfast volunteer and advocacy efforts to help make cancer a national priority, she was named the State Lead Ambassador by the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network in 2020.

She has also been a member of the American Cancer Society's organization in Oregon and Southwestern Washington. She has been on the board of directors for the last 7 years.

Part of the reason why she is so deserving of all these important honors and responsibilities has been because of her advocacy and fight for early cancer detection blood testing--hugely important--such as in the bipartisan bill that I sponsor with our colleagues Senators Crapo and Bennet. It is one of the best ways we know of to make sure people can stop cancer early and save lives.

For the last 5 years, Kathy aimed her advocacy efforts at promoting groundbreaking early cancer detection advances--known as Multi-Cancer Early Detection tests--to help more cancer victims learn their diagnosis far earlier and survive the disease at far higher rates. Kathy actually participated in a clinical trial of the new technology conducted at Oregon Health Sciences University, and she came away from that experience committed to winning broader access to this lifesaving, groundbreaking advance.

Kathy has played a critical role in educating community and policymakers in Oregon about the importance of access to multi-cancer early detection screening coverage, and I am proud to be a lead sponsor with Senators Crapo and Bennet, S. 339, the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection--MCED--Screening Coverage Act that will help ensure access to screenings that can detect cancer at earlier, more treatable stages. As a testament to Kathy's advocacy, every single Member of the Oregon delegation serves as a cosponsor of our legislation.

As Kathy celebrates her 27th year as a Society volunteer, she shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. Her rigorous dedication in service continues to make a lasting impact on the mission to ending cancer as we know it, and she does that for everyone.

I know that I speak for Oregonians in every nook and cranny in our State as we express our gratitude for her commitment, her talent, her mentorship, her leadership, and particularly in the constant effort to better cancer research and treatment.

So on behalf of our whole State, this afternoon here on the floor of the U.S. Senate, I would like to thank Kathy Ottele for her tireless work and service. She has literally dedicated her life to this cause, and the people of Oregon are better for it. I look forward to our continued partnership on these important efforts as I work as a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, and she continues her incredible volunteering at home.

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