McConnell-Supported Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act is Now Law

Press Release

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is pleased to announce that the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, named in honor of a young girl who advocated for cancer awareness and tragically died from a brain tumor at age 10, was signed into law today. Through the leadership of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act passed the House of Representatives with a clear bipartisan majority of nearly 300 votes. When it arrived in the Senate in December, Senator McConnell worked behind the scenes to ensure the bill was not buried in committee. Then in January, he asked his Republican colleagues to support the measure, and ultimately every single one did so. As the Republican Leader, Senator McConnell was able to use his position to cut through the partisan gridlock and get the bill passed on March 11, 2014. After Senate passage, Leader Cantor praised Senator McConnell's work on the issue, saying, he was "instrumental in getting this done from the start."

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act will rightfully shift funding away from the Republican and Democratic national political conventions toward pediatric medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The bill will completely end the taxpayer subsidy for the two parties' national conventions, which in 2012 amounted to $36.5 million. Over the next 10 years, the sum amount saved is projected to total $126 million. All $126 million will be directed to a fund for pediatric medical research at NIH. The legislation ensures that the funding must be spent on pediatric research, and it is not limited to any specific field--all pediatric diseases and disorders, from cancer to diabetes to Down syndrome, will be eligible. Decisions about which projects receive funding will not be made by politicians but by doctors and researchers at NIH through a peer-review process.

"Childhood diseases and disorders is the kind of issue that should not be decided based on political party, and I don't think anyone can argue with the fact that helping sick and disabled children should take priority over sound bites, balloons, and streamers. So I am proud that today, on behalf of the children in Kentucky who suffer from incurable illnesses or disorders, the Gabriella Miller Kids First Act is now law. As a survivor of childhood polio myself, I have always empathized with children today who battle disabling or life-threatening diseases and disorders, and I have a special place in my heart for the doctors, nurses, and caregivers who work day in and day out to help these kids, and the researchers searching for cures."

Senator McConnell has been a strong supporter of pediatric medical research. He co-sponsored and helped shepherd through the Senate the Childhood Cancer Act of 2008. He also voted for the Combating Autism Act of 2006, and as Senate Republican Leader, helped to secure its reauthorization in 2011.

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