[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 123 (Friday, August 7, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9090-S9091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           NATIONAL POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE AWARENESS WEEK

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 241.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Begich). Without objection, it is so 
ordered. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 241) designating the period beginning 
     on September 13, 2009, and ending on September 19, 2009, as 
     ``National Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness Week,'' and 
     supporting the goals and ideals of a National Polycystic 
     Kidney Disease Awareness Week to raise public awareness and 
     understanding of polycystic kidney disease and the impact 
     polycystic kidney disease has on patients and future 
     generations of their families.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any 
statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 241) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 241

       Whereas polycystic kidney disease, known as ``PKD'', is 1 
     of the most prevalent life-threatening genetic diseases in 
     the United States;
       Whereas polycystic kidney disease is a severe, dominantly 
     inherited disease that has a devastating impact, in both 
     human and economic terms, affecting equally people of all 
     ages, races, sexes, nationalities, geographic locations, and 
     income levels;
       Whereas there are 2 hereditary forms of polycystic kidney 
     disease, with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease 
     (ADPKD) affecting 1 in 500 people worldwide, including 
     600,000 patients with polycystic kidney disease in the United 
     States, according to prevalence estimates by the National 
     Institutes of Health;
       Whereas in families in which 1 or both parents have ADPKD 
     there is a 50-percent chance that the parents will pass the 
     disease to their children;
       Whereas autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease 
     (ARPKD), a rarer form of PKD, affects 1 in 20,000 live births 
     and frequently leads to early death;
       Whereas in families in which both parents carry ARPKD there 
     is a 25-percent chance that the parents will pass the disease 
     to their children;
       Whereas, in addition to patients directly affected by 
     polycystic kidney disease, countless additional friends, 
     loved ones, family members, colleagues, and caregivers must 
     shoulder the physical, emotional, and financial burdens of 
     polycystic kidney disease;
       Whereas polycystic kidney disease, for which there is no 
     treatment or cure, is the leading cause of kidney failure 
     resulting from a genetic disease, and 1 of the 4 leading 
     causes of kidney failure in the United States;
       Whereas the vast majority of patients with polycystic 
     kidney disease have kidney failure at the age of 53, on 
     average, causing a severe strain on dialysis and kidney 
     transplantation resources and on the delivery of health care 
     in the United States, as the largest segment of the 
     population of the United States, the baby boomers, continues 
     to age;
       Whereas end-stage renal disease is one of the fastest 
     growing components of the Medicare budget, and polycystic 
     kidney disease contributes to the cost with an estimated 
     $2,000,000,000 budgeted annually for dialysis, kidney 
     transplantation, and related therapies;
       Whereas polycystic kidney disease is a systemic disease 
     that causes damage to the kidneys and the cardiovascular, 
     endocrine, hepatic, and gastrointestinal systems;
       Whereas polycystic kidney disease instills in patients a 
     fear of an unknown future with a life-threatening genetic 
     disease, and apprehension over possible genetic 
     discrimination;
       Whereas the severity of the symptoms of polycystic kidney 
     disease and the limited public awareness of the disease cause 
     many patients to fail to recognize the presence of the 
     disease, to forego regular visits to physicians, and not to 
     receive good health or therapeutic management that would help 
     avoid more severe complications when kidney failure occurs;
       Whereas people suffering from chronic, life-threatening 
     diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease, are more 
     frequently predisposed to depression and the resulting 
     consequences of depression because of anxiety over the 
     possible pain, suffering, and premature death that people 
     with polycystic kidney disease may face;
       Whereas the Senate and taxpayers of the United States want 
     treatments and cures for disease and hope to see results from 
     investments in research conducted by the National Institutes 
     of Health and from initiatives such as the National 
     Institutes of Health Roadmap to the Future;
       Whereas polycystic kidney disease is an example of how 
     collaboration, technological

[[Page S9091]]

     innovation, scientific momentum, and public-private 
     partnerships can--
       (1) generate therapeutic interventions that directly 
     benefit the people suffering from polycystic kidney disease;
       (2) save billions of Federal dollars under Medicare, 
     Medicaid, and other programs for dialysis, kidney 
     transplants, immunosuppressant drugs, and related therapies; 
     and
       (3) allow several thousand openings on the kidney 
     transplant waiting list;
       Whereas improvements in diagnostic technology and the 
     expansion of scientific knowledge about polycystic kidney 
     disease have led to the discovery of the 3 primary genes that 
     cause polycystic kidney disease, and the 3 primary protein 
     products of the genes, and to the understanding of cell 
     structures and signaling pathways that cause cyst growth that 
     has produced multiple polycystic kidney disease clinical drug 
     trials;
       Whereas there are thousands of volunteers nationwide 
     dedicated to expanding essential research, fostering public 
     awareness and understanding, educating patients and their 
     families about polycystic kidney disease to improve treatment 
     and care, providing appropriate moral support, and 
     encouraging people to become organ donors; and
       Whereas volunteers engage in an annual national awareness 
     event held during the third week of September, making that 
     week an appropriate time to recognize National Polycystic 
     Kidney Disease Awareness Week: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the period beginning on September 13, 2009, 
     and ending on September 19, 2009, as ``National Polycystic 
     Kidney Disease Awareness Week'';
       (2) supports the goals and ideals of a national week to 
     raise public awareness and understanding of polycystic kidney 
     disease;
       (3) recognizes the need for additional research into a cure 
     for polycystic kidney disease; and
       (4) encourages the people of the United States and 
     interested groups--
       (A) to support National Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness 
     Week through appropriate ceremonies and activities;
       (B) to promote public awareness of polycystic kidney 
     disease; and
       (C) to foster understanding of the impact of the disease on 
     patients and their families.

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