[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SCOTT (for himself and Mr. Booker):
  S. 2465. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize 
a sickle cell disease prevention and treatment demonstration program 
and to provide for sickle cell disease research, surveillance, 
prevention, and treatment; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, as we close out Black History Month this 
week, I wanted to recognize a few people and initiatives that we are 
really excited about.
  Yesterday, I joined Congressman Mark Walker, Chairman of the 
Republican Study Committee in the House, to host our Second Annual 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fly In.
  We hosted Presidents and Administrators from HBCUs throughout the 
country, including four from my home State of South Carolina--South 
Carolina State University, Claflin University, Allen University and 
Benedict College.
  We were able to host some great panels on ensuring curricula are 
matched with the needs of the workforce, how to best encourage 
entrepreneurship among students, and what steps we are taking at the 
Federal level to help our HBCUs provide an invaluable education for 
students for generations to come.
  Representatives from the HBCUs heard from Google, McDonalds, 
Starbucks, Bank of America the Morehouse College Entrepreneurship 
Center, John Deere, Wal-Mart, the Center for Entrepreneurship & 
Economic Development, and the Koch Foundation. I also want to thank my 
friends Senator Lankford and Congresswoman Terri Sewell for joining us 
on our member panel.
  For decades, HBCUs provided Americans of color with educational 
opportunities they would not have otherwise had. For generations, they 
have given low-income students an education they could not otherwise 
afford.
  We have stood by them with the restoration of year-round Pell Grants, 
a top legislative priority from last year's fly-in, which benefits more 
than one million students.
  I joined a bipartisan group of members of Congress, including 
Representative Alma Adams, to ensure an increase in the Department of 
Defense's HBCU and PMI grant program, boosting funding for this 
important collaboration to $40M.
  And earlier this month, we saw the Environmental Protection Agency 
renew its partnership with Bowie State University to provide 
professional experiences and advanced resources to Bowie State 
students.
  We will continue to stand with our HBCUs, and help ensure they are 
providing the opportunities sought by so many people of color and low-
income families from across the Nation.
  I also want to talk about legislation my friend Senator Booker and I 
introduced today to help combat Sickle Cell Disease.
  Our Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention and 
Treatment Act will do exactly what the title suggests . . . aid in 
fighting sickle cell through research, surveillance, prevention and 
treatment.
  Currently, we don't really know exactly how many people have Sickle 
Cell Disease. There's no real surveillance and reporting in place at 
the Federal level, and only a handful of states have a reporting 
process.
  To best battle Sickle Cell, we have to know the universe of what 
we're fighting against. So, our bill establishes the National Sickle 
Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment program 
to collect data on the demographics and prevalence of Sickle Cell as 
well as identify and evaluate strategies for prevention and treatment.
  We're also reauthorizing the Sickle Cell Disease Treatment 
Demonstration Program (SDTDP) for four years, making some smart reforms 
and expanding support services for kids and young adults making the 
transition to adult care.
  If you've ever met someone with Sickle Cell Disease, you know the 
pain they go through. You see how hard it is on their families to watch 
them suffer.
  The Medical University of South Carolina has put so much effort into 
finding a cure, and over the past few years I've gotten to know some of 
the patients. Their perseverance is amazing.
  We have taken some great steps forward, but we have to keep that 
momentum going. I want to thank Senator Booker again for joining me in 
this effort, and I look forward to our colleagues supporting the Sickle 
Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment Act.
  Mr. President, Black History Month allows us to not only study and 
learn from our past, but to see where we can go in the future. Our 
Nation has made amazing progress in the past 50 years.
  Without a doubt, there are still challenges ahead of us, and by 
remembering the strength of folks like Dr. Martin Luther King, the 
Friendship Nine, Cleveland Sellers, and so many other civil rights 
heroes, I am heartened that despite those challenges, we will continue 
to make progress.
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