[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 21, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





      SUPPORT FOR THE GABRIELLA MILLER KIDS FIRST RESEARCH ACT 2.0

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JENNIFER WEXTON

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 21, 2020

  Ms. WEXTON. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Gabriella 
Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, a bipartisan bill that I introduced 
on Friday, April 17th. If enacted, this bill would make great strides 
to fund the fight against childhood cancer, birth defects, and other 
rare pediatric diseases.
  Cancer is the single leading cause of death among American children 
of any disease. The U.S. is rapidly approaching 16,000 children 
diagnosed with cancer annually, and the incidence of childhood cancer 
has been steadily increasing over time. Additionally, one in 33 babies 
born in the U.S. are affected by a birth defect, and birth defects are 
the leading cause of death among infants. These pediatric diseases are 
still poorly understood, and additional funding is greatly needed to 
augment existing research to promote new discoveries for children 
affected by them.
  In an effort to uncover new insights into the biology of pediatric 
disease, Congress passed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 
in 2014, which established a Ten-Year Pediatric Research Initiative 
Fund within the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Common Fund. The 
law authorized $12.6 million in funds annually for pediatric disease 
research through the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research 
Program, commonly known as Kids First. Since the original law was 
enacted, Kids First has sequenced more than 20,000 samples from 
childhood cancer and structural birth defect cohorts. Most recently the 
program initiated the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource 
Center--a comprehensive integrated data resource for research and 
patient communities meant to advance discoveries.
  The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 builds off the 
important progress made by the 2014 Gabriella Miller Kids First 
Research Act by providing a new source of funding for the Kids First 
Research Fund. Specifically, the bill would redirect civil monetary 
sanctions levied against pharmaceutical manufacturers by the U.S. 
Securities and Exchange Commission for violation of the Foreign Corrupt 
Practices Act. By diverting penalties from pharmaceutical companies 
that break the law, the bill would sustain Kids First's critical 
childhood disease research for generations to come.
  The 2014 law and the bill I introduced Friday is named to honor 10-
year-old Gabriella Miller who passed away from an inoperable brain 
tumor. She was a fierce advocate for childhood cancer research, and her 
efforts to boost awareness of pediatric cancer helped raise funds for 
children's cancer charities. I would like to thank Gabriella's mother 
and my constituent, Ellyn Miller, for her tireless advocacy on behalf 
of children with cancer through Smashing Walnuts. I am honored to have 
worked closely with Ellyn on the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research 
Act 2.0.
  I introduced this bill to find treatments and cures so that our 
nation's children will have a fighting chance to survive cancer and 
other rare disease. The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 
will reaffirm our strong commitment to finding cures for pediatric 
diseases.

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