[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 51 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H1978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    LET US SUPPORT NEEDED RESEARCH ON RETINAL DEGENERATIVE DISEASES

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, there is a saying, nothing is so 
strong as gentleness, and nothing is so gentle as real strength.
  I can think of no better person who personifies those words as does 
my constituent and friend, Betti Lidsky. Yesterday, before the House 
Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Betti testified 
about her experiences as the mother of three children, Ilana, Daria, 
and Isaac, who are stricken with retinal degenerative diseases.
  Betti and Carlos, her husband, came to deliver a message that is not 
only close to their hearts, but close to the hearts of the millions of 
family members across America who have a loved one who suffers from 
this disease, for which there is no treatment nor cure.
  Let us help give the Lidsky family and indeed those families across 
America who are impacted by this disease hope by supporting, promoting, 
and funding research through the National Eye Institute and the 
Foundation Fighting Blindness. Working together, there is a cure in 
sight.

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