[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H653-H654]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SUPPORT RESEARCH FUNDING FOR NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE

  (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, some people come into our lives and

[[Page H654]]

quickly go. Some stay and leave footprints on our hearts, and we are 
never the same.
  My constituents, Betti and Carlos Lidsky, are such people. Three of 
their four children, Isaac, Daria and Ilana, have an irreversible, 
incurable, degenerative eye disease known as retinitis pigmentosa which 
will eventually cause blindness. The Lidsky children are among the 6 
million Americans who suffer from sight-debilitating diseases, and that 
number is poised to skyrocket as an additional 9 million Americans have 
presymptomatic signs of retinal degeneration.
  I learned of these statistics through Betti and Carlos, who work 
tirelessly every day to raise awareness on these issues. They raise 
funds for research, and they work closely with researchers. They have 
testified before congressional committees, and this week they will be 
here in Congress lobbying us to make sure that each and every one of us 
works toward making blinding diseases extinct.
  Betti, Carlos and their children, Isaac, Daria and Ilana, are the 
reason why we need to support research funding for the National Eye 
Institute. Promising clinical experiments are underway, and with our 
continued support, we can be sure that a cure is just around the bend.

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