Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, which will enable the continuation of critical research of treatments and cures for childhood cancer and rare diseases.

I'm proud to carry this legislation in honor of Gabriella, who was from Virginia's 10th Congressional District. Gabriella was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and passed away in 2013 at age 10.

Gabriella was a fierce fighter not just in her own battle with cancer, but as an advocate on behalf of the millions of other children who have suffered from this terrible disease. In the months following her terminal diagnosis, Gabriella became a national force for change, urging Congress to ``stop talking--start doing,'' and increase funding to discover better treatments and cures.

Her heroic efforts delivered a successful push to pass the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act in 2014, bipartisan legislation named in her honor. The Kids First program has made remarkable progress since then--sequencing more than 55,000 genomes from over 21,000 patients in childhood cancer and structural birth defect cohorts and starting the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center, a comprehensive data resource for research and patient communities meant to advance discoveries.

But there is still a long fight ahead to better understand, treat, and ultimately cure childhood cancer. Without action by Congress, funding for this critical program is set to expire this year. We must do better for our kids, and this bipartisan legislation would enable the critical work of the Kids First program to continue. For the Millers, and for the millions of American families who have had to go through the horror of receiving a cancer diagnosis for their child, I ask my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important legislation.

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