[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 29, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE CEREBRAL PALSY RESEARCH PROGRAM ACT

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 29, 2022

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize March as Cerebral 
Palsy Awareness Month and to urge my colleagues to support federal 
funding for cerebral palsy research.
  Cerebral palsy is the most common life-long physical disability, 
occurring in approximately 1 out of 345 children in the United States. 
It is also the most common disability that has no dedicated federal 
funding.
  No dedicated federal funding for cerebral palsy means there are fewer 
treatment options, less prevention, less education, and a lack of 
standards of care across the lifespan. Additionally, there is not a 
reliable system to count how many people in the U.S. have cerebral 
palsy, so the estimates on cerebral palsy prevalence are just that--
estimates.
  I am working to change that and urge my colleagues to join me. Today, 
I introduced a bipartisan bill with Congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick and 
Emanuel Cleaver to create a Cerebral Palsy Research Program within the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support research on 
the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation, health care costs, and societal 
costs of cerebral palsy. It also directs the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) to update and publish their Strategic Plan on Cerebral 
Palsy.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in this effort to support more 
research on cerebral palsy--a disability that affects approximately 1 
million people in the United States, has few reliable treatments, and 
no cure.

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