[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E687]]



 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR DIABETES RESEARCH

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                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 10, 2000

  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I support the resolution I have 
introduced today with Congressman Bill Archer and Congressman Ken 
Bentsen, both fellow Texans, to express the sense of the House that 
funding for juvenile diabetes should be increased.
  On April 27 we held a juvenile diabetes forum at Texas Children's 
Hospital in Houston, TX. At this forum, graciously sponsored by Texas 
Children's Hospital President and CEO Mark A. Wallace, we heard from 
Richard Furlanetto, scientific director of the Juvenile Diabetes 
Foundation and Dr. Ralph Feign, president, of the Baylor College of 
Medicine and physician-in-chief, Texas Children's Hospital, who shared 
with us some of the recent advances in treating juvenile diabetes. At 
Texas Children's Hospital and at Baylor, researchers are involved in 
promising studies into the complications of diabetes, glucose 
metabolism and insulin secretion.
  Dr. Morey Haymond, a pediatrician who is much beloved by his small 
patients and their parents, spoke on the day-to-day concerns associated 
with juvenile diabetes and the need to increase funding for research. 
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Ross Cooley updated the group on Juvenile 
Diabetes Foundation's fund-raising activities, and also shared his own 
experiences with a daughter who suffers from the disease. Jane Adams, 
associated director for government relations of the Juvenile Diabetes 
Foundation provided an update on the group's legislative agenda and the 
need for grassroots advocacy.
  Perhaps most compelling was the testimony of the families who 
attended the event. Molly Naylor, State leader for the Juvenile 
Diabetes Foundation in Houston and a tireless advocate for children and 
their families, shared the stories of her family and others and the 
difficulties they face in dealing with this disease. Mary Kay 
Cottingham, accompanied by her guide dog, spoke on losing her sight as 
well as the organ transplants she has undergone--all due to juvenile 
diabetes.
  When Larry and Leslie Balthazar shared their personal story of 
discovering that Larry Junior, at 2 years old, had been diagnosed with 
juvenile diabetes there was not a dry eye in the house. These parents' 
love and worry for their child was so compelling and powerful that 
every person in the room was motivated to do whatever they could to 
eradicate this terrible disease.
  The resolution I am introducing today stems from that event. We need 
to do more to cure juvenile diabetes. We have the resources, we have 
the technical expertise, and we are so very close to finding a cure.
  Our resolution concisely outlines the problem and the solution:

       Whereas, over one million Americans suffer from juvenile 
     (Type I) diabetes, a chronic, genetically determined, 
     debilitating disease affecting every organ system;
       Whereas 13,000 children a year--35 each day--are diagnosed 
     with juvenile diabetes;
       Whereas 17,000 children a year--46 each day--are diagnosed 
     with juvenile diabetes;
       Whereas juvenile diabetes is one of the most costly chronic 
     diseases of childhood;
       Whereas insulin treats but does not cure this potentially 
     deadly disease and does not prevent the complications of 
     diabetes, which include blindness, heart attack, kidney 
     failure, stroke, nerve damage, and amputations;
       Whereas the Diabetes Research Working Group, a non-partisan 
     advisory board established to advise Congress, has called for 
     an accelerated and expanded diabetes research program at the 
     National Institutes of Health and has recommended a $4.1 
     billion increase in Federal funding for diabetes research at 
     the National Institutes of Health over the next five years; 
     and
       Whereas a strong public-private partnership to fund 
     juvenile diabetes exists between the Federal Government and 
     the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, a foundation which has 
     awarded more than $326 million for diabetes research since 
     1970 and will give $100 million in fiscal year 2001:
       Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of 
     Representatives (the Senate concurring) That Federal funding 
     for diabetes research should be increased in accordance with 
     the recommendations of the Diabetes Working Group so that a 
     cure for juvenile diabetes can be found.

  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. As the 
world's most prosperous and powerful nation we should be directing our 
resources to research and development. We should be investing in 
finding a cure for diabetes--Larry Balthazar Junior, and thousands of 
children like him, deserve no less.

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