III 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 227 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 29, 2009 Mr. Brown submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Designating September 2009 as Tay-Sachs Awareness Month.

Whereas Tay-Sachs disease is a rare, genetic disorder that causes destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord due to the poor functioning of an enzyme called hexosaminidase A; Whereas there is no proven treatment or cure for Tay-Sachs disease and the disease is always fatal in children; Whereas the disorder was named after Warren Tay, an ophthalmologist from the United Kingdom, and Bernard Sachs, a neurologist from the United States, both of whom contributed to the discovery of the disease in the 1880s; Whereas Tay-Sachs disease often affects families with no prior history of the disease; Whereas approximately 1 in 27 Ashkenazi Jews, 1 in 30 Louisianan Cajuns, 1 in 30 French Canadians, 1 in 50 Irish Americans, and 1 in every 250 people are carriers of Tay-Sachs disease, which means approximately 1,500,000 people in the United States are carriers; Whereas unaffected carriers of the disease possess the recessive gene that can trigger the disease in future generations; Whereas, if both parents of a child are carriers of Tay-Sachs disease, there is a 1 in 4 chance that the child will develop Tay-Sachs disease; Whereas a simple and inexpensive blood test can determine if an individual is a carrier of Tay-Sachs disease, and all people in the United States, especially those people who are members of high-risk populations, should be screened; and Whereas raising awareness of Tay-Sachs disease is the best way to fight this horrific disease: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate designates September 2009 as Tay-Sachs Awareness Month.