[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 21, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H2737-H2740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AWARENESS WEEK
Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 1116) supporting the goals and ideals of
Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
[[Page H2738]]
H. Res. 1116
Whereas multiple sclerosis can impact men and women of all
ages, races, and ethnicities;
Whereas more than 400,000 Americans live with multiple
sclerosis;
Whereas approximately 2,500,000 people worldwide have been
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis;
Whereas every hour of every day, someone is newly diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis;
Whereas it is estimated that between 8,000 and 10,000
children and adolescents are living with multiple sclerosis;
Whereas the exact cause of multiple sclerosis is still
unknown;
Whereas the symptoms of multiple sclerosis are
unpredictable and vary from person to person;
Whereas there is no laboratory test available that
definitely defines a diagnosis for multiple sclerosis;
Whereas multiple sclerosis is not genetic, contagious, or
directly inherited, but studies show there are genetic
factors that indicate certain individuals are susceptible to
the disease;
Whereas multiple sclerosis symptoms occur when an immune
system attack affects the myelin in nerve fibers of the
central nervous system, damaging or destroying it and
replacing it with scar tissue, thereby interfering with or
preventing the transmission of nerve signals;
Whereas in rare cases multiple sclerosis is so progressive
it is fatal;
Whereas there is no known cure for multiple sclerosis;
Whereas the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition, an affiliation of
multiple sclerosis organizations dedicated to the enhancement
of the quality of life for all those affected by multiple
sclerosis, recognizes, and celebrates Multiple Sclerosis
Awareness Week;
Whereas the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition's mission is to
increase opportunities for cooperation and provide greater
opportunity to leverage the effective use of resources for
the benefit of the multiple sclerosis community;
Whereas the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition recognizes and
celebrates Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week during 1 week in
March every calendar year;
Whereas the goals of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week are
to invite people to join the movement to end multiple
sclerosis, encourage everyone to do something to demonstrate
their commitment to moving toward a world free of multiple
sclerosis, and to acknowledge those who have dedicated their
time and talent to help promote multiple sclerosis research
and programs; and
Whereas this year Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week is
recognized during the week of March 8, 2010, through March
14, 2010: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the goals and ideals of Multiple Sclerosis
Awareness Week;
(2) encourages the President to issue a proclamation in
support of the goals and ideals of Multiple Sclerosis
Awareness Week;
(3) encourages States, territories, possessions of the
United States, and localities to support the goals and ideals
of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week by issuing proclamations
designating Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week;
(4) encourages media organizations to participate in
Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week and help educate the public
about multiple sclerosis;
(5) commends the efforts of the States, territories, and
possessions of the United States who support the goals and
ideals of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week;
(6) recognizes and reaffirms the Nation's commitment to
combating multiple sclerosis by promoting awareness about its
causes and risks and by promoting new education programs,
supporting research, and expanding access to medical
treatment; and
(7) recognizes all people in the United States living with
multiple sclerosis, expresses gratitude to their family
members and friends who are a source of love and
encouragement to them, and salutes the health care
professionals and medical researchers who provide assistance
to those so afflicted and continue to work to find cures and
improve treatments.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. McCollum). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) and the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Burgess) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material for the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution
1116, recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of Multiple
Sclerosis Awareness Week, which actually took place the week of March
8.
Now, while Multiple Sclerosis Week occurred last month, it is never
the wrong time to draw attention to this important health issue and to
reaffirm our commitment to combating MS.
Multiple sclerosis affects an estimated 400,000 people in the United
States and 2\1/2\ million people worldwide. MS is thought to be an
autoimmune disorder where the immune system incorrectly attacks healthy
nerve fibers of the central nervous system. Symptoms that people with
MS experience include blurred vision and blindness, tremors, extreme
fatigue and paralysis. However, the exact causes of MS are unknown, and
there is no known cure for this disease.
But what we all know is that it can affect men and women of all ages,
and it does affect each person differently.
Many of us have our own personal stories of loved ones who've been
diagnosed with MS. We will hear some of those stories today.
I've gotten to know some wonderful constituent advocates from my
district to learn of their personal stories over the years through the
MS Society chapter which I represent in my district, and I know that
many of my colleagues have benefited from interactions with their local
chapters and the members who have shared their stories with them.
So I want to commend my colleague, Representative Lee, for
introducing this resolution. I also recognize Representative Carnahan
and Representative Burgess for their leadership on the Congressional
Multiple Sclerosis Caucus.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume, and I thank the gentlelady from California (Mrs. Capps) for
her recognition.
As cochairman of the Congressional MS Caucus, I rise today in support
of House Resolution 1116, supporting the goals and ideals of Multiple
Sclerosis Awareness Week from March 8 through March 14. The goal of
this annual event is to raise awareness of this disease for individuals
and their families who are impacted by this illness.
Every hour in the United States, someone new is diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis. It is a chronic, often disabling disease that
attacks the central nervous system. Over 400,000 Americans are living
with MS, and approximately 2\1/2\ million people are affected
worldwide.
These patients suffer a variety of symptoms which can vary from
person to person and, indeed, may vary within a particular patient
during the course of the disease. Among the symptoms are impaired
vision, muscle weakness, problems with coordination and balance,
numbness, memory problems and, in the most severe cases, which,
fortunately, is rare, the disease is fatal.
Even the milder cases of multiple sclerosis create daily changes for
patients by impairing speech, the ability to write, the ability to
walk. Despite the debilitating effects, the cause of multiple sclerosis
is unknown. There is yet no laboratory test that is available that
definitively establishes the diagnosis and, of course, there is no
cure.
Treatments, however, have improved markedly over the last 20 to 30
years, and that is the reason we should applaud the work of the
Multiple Sclerosis Coalition, an affiliation of MS organizations
dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life for those affected
by this disease, which recognizes and celebrates this special week that
we designate as Multiple Sclerosis Week.
Many Americans know a person living with MS, a mother, father, son or
daughter or another family member, or even a colleague. During my brief
time in Congress a member of my staff has been diagnosed.
I also want to recognize those who struggle with multiple sclerosis
every day, the family and friends who support them, the doctors,
nurses, researchers and others that care for them and continue to
search for a cure.
I'd also like to thank Representative Russ Carnahan of Missouri,
who's the co-chair of the MS Caucus, and Representative Barbara Lee of
California who are sponsoring this resolution with me.
I encourage all of my colleagues to vote in favor of the resolution.
[[Page H2739]]
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as she may
consume to the Representative from California, Representative Lee, who
is the author of this resolution.
Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, let me thank, first of all, my
colleague, the gentlelady from California (Mrs. Capps), for yielding me
the time. Also, let me just thank you for using your invaluable
background as a nurse in helping shape quality health care for all in
our country. So to Congresswoman Capps, thank you very much for your
leadership.
Also, let me thank Congressman Russ Carnahan and Congressman Michael
Burgess, the co-chairs of the Multiple Sclerosis Caucus and their
staff, including my staff, Christos Tsenta, for helping to work on this
resolution in a bipartisan manner and for keeping the Congress focused
on MS issues, which was recognized during MS Awareness Week, March 8
through March 14.
Let me also thank Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Barton and their
staff for agreeing to bring the resolution to the floor, along with our
nearly 110 cosponsors. And to Congresswoman Kilroy, the gentlelady from
Ohio, I just want to say to her that her determination and her strength
is such an inspiration to all of us here in the House of
Representatives.
Let me thank the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition, the National Ms
Society and all its staff, especially Shawn O'Neail and Shawna Golden,
for leading the charge on MS Awareness Week and for their work on this
resolution and for helping to support activities around the country in
recognition of this week.
And this resolution is in honor of all of those living with MS and
all of the friends and family and loved ones who care for them and
support them.
Lastly, I just want to thank my beloved sister, Mildred, for teaching
me what it's like to live with multiple sclerosis. Mildred was
diagnosed with MS at about the age of 26 or 27. She has been living a
productive and fruitful life. She has learned about the treatments and
medications; and, fortunately, she has had access to some of the best.
But she wants everybody to have access to the types of treatment that
she has had.
I asked her this morning what she'd like for me to say and she said,
increase funding for research so we can find a cure.
She said to me, You know, it's so frustrating to go to the doctor,
and for me to ask the doctor a question about the symptoms of my
disease and the doctor says, I just don't know. She said at first she
thought the doctors were just putting her off; but, actually, the
doctors just don't know.
So this bill is for all of the times that she told me she gets up in
the morning and wonders whether she'll be able to walk that day. This
is for all of the times that she is in remission, dreading the next
flare-up, wondering what is going to trigger the return of her
symptoms.
So I'm pleased to be here today to talk about a disease that my
family and hundreds of thousands of families around the Nation have
faced. In fact, our first lady, Michelle Obama, her dad, Mr. Frasier
Robinson, had multiple sclerosis, and so our first family clearly
understands the need for increased awareness and outreach and resources
to fight this disease.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central
nervous system. It's thought to be an autoimmune disorder where the
immune system incorrectly attacks healthy nerve fibers of the central
nervous system, interfering with transmission of nerve signals
throughout the body.
There are over 400,000 people throughout the United States suffering
from multiple sclerosis; and worldwide over 2.5 million cases have been
diagnosed. But the real numbers of people living with MS are almost
certainly higher.
Although MS is largely considered a disease that affects Caucasian
populations, it does occur among African Americans and other minority
groups and can be quite severe. Because people of color tend to have
had less access to the health care system, which I'm confident now that
our health care law will finally address, they may not get diagnosed at
the rates that they should.
As has been said, Madam Speaker, MS Awareness Week was recognized
this year from March 8 through March 14. The theme of this year was
``Move It!'' and it was intended to encourage people throughout the
country to volunteer, raise funding, advocate, educate, and raise
awareness about this disease.
This is the fifth year of MS Awareness Week, and over the past 5
years, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has received $30 million
in donated corporate support, advertising space and public relations,
and generated more than 120 billion media impressions.
{time} 1215
In March alone, the MS Society recently received over 650,000 hits on
their Web site from people who got active in the fight against MS. So
the drumbeat is being heard loudly and clearly.
People living with MS were at the Today Show and Good Morning America
and featured on 12 digital billboards which ran more than 700 times
throughout the entire month of March in Times Square. The MS Coalition,
the National MS Society, and the Congressional MS Caucus were also
actively engaged in discussions about access to quality health care,
increased MS research, disability rights, and MS issues and sought more
funding for MS research.
This month, the Northern California Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis
Society is also in the middle of holding its MS walk fundraisers. Our
own MS walk in my district in Alameda County is actually scheduled for
this Saturday. I'm also proud to say that a former person in my office,
Alicia Barron, has been on the front lines of raising awareness about
this disease through her work with the Lone Star Chapter of the MS
Society in Houston, Texas. We appreciate her work and service.
While MS Awareness Week has passed, there is still a lot we must do.
On May 26, MS societies throughout the world will band together on
World Ms Day to increase awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the
disease and the needs of people with MS and how to improve their
quality of life.
As I've always said, our health is tied to the health of our brothers
and sisters throughout the world, and we have to view anyone's
problems, their problems, as our own problems; otherwise, we will never
be truly rid of this disease. As Members of Congress, we have the
ability and the responsibility to ensure that additional research
funding is put towards diseases like multiple sclerosis. We need to
invest more time and more efforts into finding the causes of MS to
prevent it, to improve existing therapies for those who suffer with it,
and I hope one day, as my sister said, just find a cure.
I'm pleased that the fiscal year 2010 Defense appropriations bill
included $4.5 million to fund research into multiple sclerosis among
our veterans. I look forward to making sure that we provide even more
next year.
So, once again, I want to thank my colleagues for their support of
the resolution. And in honor of all of those living with MS, I want to
say we are committed to putting more money into research and to finding
a cure. As my sister Mildred said, that is all we need to do.
Mr. BURGESS. I reserve my time.
Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to yield to our colleague from
Missouri, Representative Carnahan, who is the cochair of the Multiple
Sclerosis Caucus, such time as he may consume.
Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlelady from
California for her leadership and work on this important legislation,
supporting the MS Awareness Week.
Every week, around 200 people are diagnosed in this country with MS;
and, indeed, there's been a spike in diagnoses among our military. That
is one of the reasons the past several years we have been able to fight
for and obtain funding through the Department of Defense
congressionally directed research program.
We also have worked with addressing the issue in terms of creating
the national registry, so we can help track this difficult disease that
has eluded a cure for so long.
I am proud to serve as cochair of the Congressional MS Caucus along
with
[[Page H2740]]
my colleague here today, Michael Burgess. He has been a good partner in
promoting this. The MS Caucus is a bipartisan group of a 127 Members of
this House actively engaged in discussions about access to quality
health care, raising awareness, promoting education, and increasing MS
research. I want to urge my colleagues here today to not just support
this resolution, but if you're not already a member of the MS Caucus, I
urge you to join us. I urge you to connect with your local chapters to
help support the people that are living and suffering with MS, but also
to help find that cure, to move research forward.
This year marks the fifth annual MS Awareness Week. The week was
created by the MS Coalition and the National MS Society to raise
national awareness about MS. I especially want to thank St. Louis'
Gateway Chapter of the National MS Society for their unwavering
dedication, for their help for people back in my home city, and for
their support of my work here in the Congress. I'm grateful for their
hard work to provide support and assistance for those living with and
affected by MS.
This spring, in fact, more than 8,000 Missourians took part in the
Walk MS event across the State, raising awareness and funds to help
those living with MS every day, for the challenges they face from this
disease.
Today, I want to again urge my colleagues to support this resolution
to help create a world free of MS.
Mr. BURGESS. I will yield myself my remaining time.
I want to thank Representative Carnahan for the recognition and echo
his call to other Members of this Congress to join the MS Caucus. This
caucus does real work. We provide information. We provide conference
calls. We provide educational time with either Members or staff, and it
is a worthwhile endeavor.
While there is no cure for multiple sclerosis as it stands today, the
treatment has evolved significantly. In my 25 years of medical
practice, I saw a significant evolution. Although I was not the primary
caregiver for multiple sclerosis patients in my general OB-GYN
practice, I did have many patients who did suffer from that illness
and, as a consequence, over the course of my professional lifetime, did
see the treatment evolve from one that was essentially palliative to
one that was more targeted towards the disease itself or targeted
towards the damages the disease inflicts upon the central nervous
system.
So I do encourage both sides of the aisle to join this caucus. It is
an important endeavor.
Again, I want to thank everyone who has participated today. We've
heard today that multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling
disease, but today, new treatments and advances in research are
starting to give new hope to people affected by the disease, but more
must be done to understand the course of this illness.
Most people with MS learn to cope. They learn to cope with the
disease and to lead satisfactory, productive lives, but they do want
answers. We recently capped off MS Week 2010 on March 8-14, and now
prepare for World MS Day on May 26.
Texas, my home State, is getting into the act with the BP MS 150,
which is a 180-mile journey from Houston to Austin. This event is a 2-
day fundraising cycling ride organized by the Lone Star Chapter of the
National Multiple Sclerosis Society. That is the largest event of its
kind in north Texas. This year's ride just took place this past
weekend. In 2009, this event raised more than $17 million for research
for MS, and the fundraising goal for this year is $18 million, with
contributions still being tallied. But the Lone Star Chapter of the
National MS Society is on its way to reaching this ambitious goal. And
this was the 5th year of MS Awareness Week.
The Multiple Sclerosis Caucus is a bipartisan group of 127
Representatives and 23 Senators who are in full support of this
resolution. But we can do more. In fact, we will be looking to have an
MS briefing for Members and their staff sometime in June, and I hope
many Members will be able to attend.
And, in addition, I urge everyone who supports this resolution to
cosponsor H.R. 1362, to create a National MS Registry. This bill has
over 150 cosponsors, and I urge my colleagues on the Energy and
Commerce Committee to take up this resolution because it is an
important amount of work that needs to be done. And with all of the
focus nowadays on genomic medicine, this registry is going to become
increasingly important.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, as we conclude this discussion on the
importance of being aware of multiple sclerosis and adoption of this
resolution, I will call attention to my colleagues all of our local
chapters throughout the country.
Our colleagues have highlighted some of the chapters they represent,
and I know I've had wonderful interactions with the Members and people
who support our local chapter in my district as they seek to raise
awareness within our local communities and also work together to raise
funds through their walks and through their fundraising drives to
provide quality of life and support for their members, those who are
afflicted with multiple sclerosis and their families, and it is an
honor to serve with them and work with them and represent them here as
they would have us do.
And what they would want us to underscore, as well, is the importance
of our funding adequately the national endowments for the health, the
efforts for continuing research, for accentuating the research in all
neurological disorders, those that affect a whole host of ranges that
impact people's lives; and among them, so important, are those who are
afflicted with multiple sclerosis. That is surely what we can do on
their behalf as we look forward to possibilities, as new discoveries
are made, and much more research can be done in this arena.
So our resolution can bring all of that to fruition. I encourage all
of our colleagues to honor and vote for House Resolution 1116,
supporting the goals and ideals of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week.
I yield back my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) that the House suspend the
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1116.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________