[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 115 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 115

 Designating May 2005 as ``National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 20, 2005

  Mr. Salazar (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. 
    Dole, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Kennedy, and Mrs. Feinstein) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Designating May 2005 as ``National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month''.

Whereas cystic fibrosis, characterized by chronic lung infections and digestive 
        disorders, is a fatal lung disease;
Whereas cystic fibrosis is 1 of the most common genetic diseases in the United 
        States and 1 for which there is no known cure;
Whereas more than 10,000,000 Americans are unknowing carriers of the cystic 
        fibrosis gene and individuals must have 2 copies to have the disease;
Whereas 1 of every 3,500 babies born in the United States is born with cystic 
        fibrosis;
Whereas newborn screening for cystic fibrosis has been implemented by 12 States 
        and facilitates early diagnosis and treatment which improves health and 
        longevity;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Cystic Fibrosis 
        Foundation recommend that all States consider newborn screening for 
        cystic fibrosis;
Whereas approximately 30,000 people in the United States have cystic fibrosis, 
        many of them children;
Whereas the average life expectancy of an individual with cystic fibrosis is in 
        the mid-thirties, an improvement from a life expectancy of 10 years in 
        the 1960s, but still unacceptably short;
Whereas prompt, aggressive treatment of the symptoms of cystic fibrosis can 
        extend the lives of people who have the disease;
Whereas recent advances in cystic fibrosis research have produced promising 
        leads in gene, protein, and drug therapies beneficial to people who have 
        the disease;
Whereas this innovative research is progressing faster and is being conducted 
        more aggressively than ever before, due in part to the establishment of 
        a model clinical trials network by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation;
Whereas the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation marks its 50th year in 2005, continues to 
        fund a research pipeline for more than 2 dozen potential therapies, and 
        funds a nationwide network of care centers that extend the length and 
        the quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis, but lives continue 
        to be lost to this disease every day; and
Whereas education of the public on cystic fibrosis, including the symptoms of 
        the disease, increases knowledge and understanding of cystic fibrosis 
        and promotes early diagnosis: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates May 2005 as ``National Cystic Fibrosis 
        Awareness Month'';
            (2) calls on the people of the United States to promote 
        awareness of cystic fibrosis and actively participate in 
        support of research to control or cure cystic fibrosis, by 
        observing the month with appropriate ceremonies and activities; 
        and
            (3) supports the goals of--
                    (A) increasing the quality of life for individuals 
                with cystic fibrosis by promoting public knowledge and 
                understanding in a manner that will result in earlier 
                diagnoses;
                    (B) encouraging increased resources for research; 
                and
                    (C) increasing levels of support for people who 
                have cystic fibrosis and their families.
                                 <all>