Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death in America's children. In 2009, I founded the Childhood Cancer Caucus to give children with this disease a voice on Capitol Hill. This week, I hosted the 15th annual Childhood Cancer Summit, which was a celebration of their lives, a testament to their strength and courage, and a reminder of all the things we have accomplished over the past 15 years.
Working to protect these beautiful children from the number one killer — cancer — has been the highlight of my career. It is an honor to partner with so many advocates, my caucus co-chairs, and these courageous children as we work to make cancer history.
While great strides have been made, there is still more to be done. Just this week, my bill — the Give Kids a Chance Act, which also includes my Creating Hope Reauthorization Act — was passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with unanimous support.
This bipartisan support underscores the bill’s importance and reminds us there is nothing partisan about our fight to defeat cancer once and for all. I authored this legislation to require more pediatric cancer research and extend the pediatric priority review voucher program to ensure kids with rare pediatric diseases have the same access to treatments as adults. I am optimistic that these bills will advance cutting-edge treatments for children until we've eliminated cancer as a threat to all children.
Read more here.
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