[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 116 (Monday, September 10, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PROGRESS ON CURING PARKINSON'S DISEASE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 6, 2001

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to come to the 
floor this evening to mark the fourth anniversary of the passage of the 
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act, an anniversary that occurred 
this week.
  In 1999, along with my friends and colleagues, Fred Upton, Lane 
Evans, Joe Skeen, Mark Udall, Tom Udall, and Henry Waxman, I formed the 
Congressional Working Group on Parkinson's Disease. The Working Group 
strives to ensure that the nation's decision makers remain ever aware 
of the needs of the more than one million Americans struggling with the 
devastating disease of Parkinson's.
  Four years ago this past Monday, Senator Wellstone was successful in 
adding the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act as an amendment to 
the Senate FY98 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. Not surprisingly, the 
amendment was approved by a vote of 95-3.
  Named for Arizona Representative Mo Udall to honor his legacy, the 
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act was originally introduced on 
April 9, 1997 in the House of Representatives. Mr. Upton and Mr. Waxman 
were the bill's lead sponsors in the House, with Senators McCain and 
Wellstone sponsoring it in the Senate. In the 105th Congress, this 
bill, H.R. 1260, had 255 cosponsors in the House; I was a proud 
original cosponsor, too.
  The Udall Act expanded basic and clinical research in Parkinson's 
Disease. It established Udall Centers of Excellence around the country 
and set up the Morris K. Udall Awards in Parkinson's Research to 
provide grants to scientists who are working to cure Parkinson's.
  One of the eleven Udall Centers is located in the great city of New 
York. The Morris Udall Center for Parkinson Disease Research at 
Columbia University is doing innovative research, including identifying 
new genes that, when either expressed or suppressed, contribute to the 
degeneration of key nerve cells. The New York group is also 
investigating gender and ethnic differences in people with Parkinson's 
Disease. Notably, too, Columbia University's Dean of Medicine is the 
former Director of NIH's National Institutes of Neurological Disorders 
and Stroke, Dr. Gerald Fischbach. The work at this Udall Center, as 
well as Centers across the county, is leading to a better understanding 
of the brain and how this disease affects it. The groundbreaking 
research at the Udall Centers, as well as our nation's public and 
private sector research effort, will lead to better treatment and a 
cure for Parkinson's.
  In this Congress, I will proudly join Congressman Mark and Tom Udall 
and members of the Congressional Working Group to introduce a 
reauthorization of the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act. I urge 
all of my colleagues to join us in reauthorizing this important 
legislation.
  In the spirit of Mo Udall's tenacity and strength of purpose, we 
cannot stop now. We must wholeheartedly support Parkinson's research 
until we find a cure!
  As the President has said, we must continue on path to doubling the 
NIH budget by 2003.
  In last year's appropriations, $71.4 million of the NIH budget was 
designated for Parkinson's Disease research. But this is only year-one 
funding of the NIH's Five Year Plan for Parkinson's Disease Research. 
We have to remain vigilant and keep the pressure on.
  Leading scientists describe Parkinson's as the most curable 
neurological disorder! That is why I urge my colleagues to support the 
second-year funding of the Five Year NIH Plan. Recent advances in 
Parkinson's Disease research have given us great hope that a cure is 
imminent. The science regarding Parkinson's has advanced to a stage 
where greater management and coordination of the federally-funded 
research effort will accelerate the pace of scientific progress 
dramatically. I ask all my colleagues to support NIH's research agenda 
by fully funding the $143.5 million increase for FY02 in the Labor-HHS 
appropriations bill.
  Secondly, we must continue to fund the U.S. Army's Neurotoxin 
Exposure Treatment Research Program. The research not only strives to 
improve the treatment of neurological diseases, but also aims to 
identify the causes of disease and prevent them.
  I am heartened by the scientific progress being made. We are so close 
to a cure of this disease.
  As you may know, this is a personal issue for many of us. Some of our 
colleagues are struggling with Parkinson's or have family members who 
are living with this illness. My own father has been afflicted by 
Parkinson's I have seen the impact of this disease first hand and have 
spoken to the experts. Professionals at NIH have said that this disease 
is curable within as little as 5 years. My government should be a part 
of that research.
  Better treatment and a cure for Parkinson's Disease also depends on 
stem cell research. With further research into embryonic stem cells, 
scientists should be able to reprogram the stem cells into the 
dopamine-producing cells which are currently lost in Parkinson's 
Disease. President Bush's August decision to fund limited types of stem 
cell research is a small step forward for this life saving medical 
research, though a limited one indeed. The President's decision to 
permit research on existing cell lines, without allowing for the 
derivation of new cell lines, falls short in the eyes of many top 
medical researchers. Experts tell us that different cell lines hold 
disparate research and therapeutic potential, and elimination of 
federal funding for certain lines will hold major consequences. I am 
quite troubled by what Secretary Tommy Thompson said yesterday. He 
noted that less than one-third of the embryonic stem cells lines that 
President Bush and said were available for federally-funded research 
are fully developed and currently adequate for research. This is 
unacceptable. We must not tie the hands of the scientists.
  So again, I urge my colleagues to support the scientists and the 
researchers who are battling this disease by providing the funding 
levels needed to cure Parkinson's. In addition, we must keep the 
pressure on the NIH to stay true to their Five Year Plan for 
Parkinson's Disease Research. Let this be the Congress that history 
points to that fulfilled the promise of the Udall Act and provided the 
unwavering support that led to an end to Parkinson's Disease.

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