[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7124-H7126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GABRIELLA MILLER KIDS FIRST RESEARCH ACT 2.0
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 623) to require certain civil penalties to be transferred to
a fund through which amounts are made available for the Gabriella
Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program at the National Institutes
of Health, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 623
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Gabriella Miller Kids First
Research Act 2.0''.
SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR THE PEDIATRIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) in section 402A(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 282a(a)(2))--
(A) in the heading--
(i) by striking ``10-year''; and
(ii) by striking ``through common fund'';
(B) by striking ``to the Common Fund'' and inserting ``to
the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic
Initiatives'';
(C) by striking ``10-Year'';
(D) by striking ``and reserved under subsection
(c)(1)(B)(i) of this section''; and
(E) by inserting before the period the following: ``, and
$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027'';
(2) in each of paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(C) of section
402A(c) (42 U.S.C. 282a(c)), by striking ``section
402(b)(7)(B)'' and inserting ``section 402(b)(7)(B)(i)''; and
(3) in section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) (42 U.S.C.
282(b)(7)(B)(ii)), by striking ``the Common Fund'' and
inserting ``the Division of Program Coordination, Planning,
and Strategic Initiatives''.
SEC. 3. COORDINATION OF NIH FUNDING FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCH.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress
that the Director of the National Institutes of Health should
continue to oversee and coordinate research that is conducted
or supported by the National Institutes of Health for
research on pediatric cancer and other pediatric diseases and
conditions, including through the Pediatric Research
Initiative Fund.
(b) Avoiding Duplication.--Section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282(b)(7)(B)(ii)) is
amended by inserting ``and shall prioritize, as appropriate,
such pediatric research that does not duplicate existing
research activities of the National Institutes of Health''
before ``; and''.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON PROGRESS AND INVESTMENTS IN PEDIATRIC
RESEARCH.
Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report
that--
(1) details pediatric research projects and initiatives
receiving funds allocated pursuant to section
402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
282(b)(7)(B)(ii)); and
[[Page H7125]]
(2) summarizes advancements made in pediatric research with
funds allocated pursuant to section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282(b)(7)(B)(ii)).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. 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 on H.R. 623.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 623, the Gabriella Miller Kids
First Research Act 2.0.
We are considering this bill in the memory of Gabriella Miller, who
was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and sadly passed at the
age of 10 in 2013.
Mr. Speaker, cancer is one of the leading causes of death in American
children, but only 4 percent of the National Cancer Institute's budget
is dedicated to pediatric cancer research.
The Kids First program was first established at the National
Institutes of Health in 2014 after Congress passed the original
Gabriella Miller Kids First Research bill. The goal of this program is
to enhance collaborative research on childhood cancer and structural
birth defects, including the development of a large-scale database of
clinical and genetic data to discover shared genetic pathways between
the disorders.
Since its creation, the Kids First program has recruited over 40
pediatric cancer and structural birth defect cohorts for whole genome
sequencing, representing 20,000 pediatric patients and 48,000 genomes.
The database developed and maintained by the Kids First program has
become a critical tool for pediatric cancer researchers and
practitioners across the country.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us reauthorizes and transfers the Kids
First program from the NIH Common Fund to the Division of Program
Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, which will give the
program more stability and allow for appropriate planning. The
legislation also increases the funding authorization to $25 million
annually for 5 years.
I thank Representative Wexton for her leadership on this issue and
Ranking Members Rodgers and Guthrie for working with us on this
important bill.
Finally, I thank Ellyn and Mark Miller for their relentless advocacy
in honor of their daughter. The Kids First program may lead to the next
big medical breakthrough for some of the rarest cancers, and those
breakthroughs simply would not be possible without their longtime
commitment to this effort.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for
H.R. 623, the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0.
This bill, which is supported by a large bipartisan group of
cosponsors, including my Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues
Bilirakis, Mullin, and McKinley, would reauthorize the Gabriella Miller
Kids First Pediatric Cancer Research Initiative at the National
Institutes of Health.
Cancer remains the leading cause of death from disease among
children. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated
10,500 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed among children from birth
to 14 years, and over 1,000 children are expected to die from the
disease.
Children are not just little adults, and childhood cancer is not
always treated like adult cancers. That is why it remains important to
continue to support a robust pediatric oncology portfolio at the
National Institutes of Health.
This legislation further prioritizes pediatric research and
complements existing research activities of the National Institutes of
Health.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this reauthorization honoring
the courage and life of Gabriella Miller, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on
this legislation.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton), the sponsor of the bill.
Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the
Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, transformative
legislation that would vastly increase funding for lifesaving research
of treatments and cures for childhood cancer and rare diseases.
This legislation would reauthorize the Gabriella Miller Kids First
Pediatric Research program, which is set to expire next year, for an
additional 5 years and increase funding to $25 million annually, which
is nearly double the current amount. I am proud that this bill has
broad bipartisan support, with over 110 cosponsors. It also passed
through committee unanimously.
I am proud to carry this legislation in honor of Gabriella, who is
from Virginia's 10th Congressional District. Gabriella was diagnosed
with an inoperable brain tumor and passed away in 2013 at age 10.
She was a fierce fighter not only in her own battle with cancer but
as an advocate on behalf of the millions of other children who have
suffered from this terrible disease. In the months following her
terminal diagnosis, Gabriella became a national force for change,
urging Congress to ``stop talking, start doing'' and increase funding
to discover better treatments and cures.
Her heroic efforts delivered a successful push to pass the Gabriella
Miller Kids First Research Act in 2014, bipartisan legislation named in
her honor. Gabriella's family joined sponsor Representative Eric Cantor
of Virginia and President Barack Obama in the Oval Office for the bill
signing.
The Kids First program has done remarkable work these past few years,
sequencing more than 20,000 samples from childhood cancer and
structural birth defect cohorts and starting the Gabriella Miller Kids
First Data Resource Center, a comprehensive data resource for research
and patient communities meant to advance discoveries.
It has been almost 9 years since we lost Gabriella, and there is
still a long fight ahead to better understand, treat, and ultimately
cure childhood cancer.
Tragically, cancer is the number one cause of disease-related death
in children aged 14 and younger. This year alone, it is estimated that
over 10,000 children in the U.S. under the age of 15 will be diagnosed
with cancer. Yet, despite these staggering statistics, the tools we
have to treat these diseases are woefully inadequate.
Many of the treatments available today for kids battling cancer
haven't seen significant advances in decades. In fact, Gabriella Miller
died from the same brain cancer that Neil Armstrong's daughter died
from in 1962. Fifty years later, she was receiving the same kind of
treatment. That is outrageous. We are failing our kids, and we can, and
we must do better.
My bipartisan Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 nearly
doubles funding for the Kids First program. With this major boost in
Federal funding, we will unlock the full potential of Kids First and
enable the hardworking doctors, scientists, and researchers to step up
their work to find ways we can help these children suffering from
cancer and rare diseases.
Mr. Speaker, this is a lifesaving bill. For the Millers, who are here
in the Capitol watching us advance this bill today, and the millions of
American families who have had to go through the torment of hearing a
doctor deliver a cancer diagnosis for their child, I urge all of my
colleagues to heed Gabriella's call to ``stop talking, start doing''
and pass this bipartisan bill.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 623, the Gabriella Miller Kids
First Research Act 2.0. As many people know, I try to be fairly
conservative when it comes to spending Federal dollars or authorizing
Federal dollars to be spent. But, Mr. Speaker, if we are going to spend
money at the Federal level on all kinds of things, near the top of that
list ought to be research for cures for cancer. And even higher on that
list should be research for children who
[[Page H7126]]
have cancer and for diseases that affect specifically the young people
of this Nation.
I don't think that anyone is going to oppose this. I am sure that I
will be proven wrong in a floor vote later. But for me, this one
reaches the bar that we ought to have unanimous or near unanimous
support on the floor, as we did in the Committee on Energy and
Commerce.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, again, I think this is a very important
bill, and I thank Representative Wexton for her leadership on this
issue.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that Members on both sides of the aisle support
the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 623, the
``Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0.'' As Chairwoman of the
House Health Subcommittee, I'm proud to have advanced this bipartisan
bill and I'm pleased to support it on the Floor today.
Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 reauthorizes the
Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program and nearly
doubles critical funding for pediatric cancer research to $25 million
each year for the next five years.
Pediatric cancer is the number one disease killer for children in the
U.S., claiming roughly 1,800 lives every year. Children with certain
birth defects have an increased risk of pediatric cancer, yet the
genetic relationship between these conditions is still poorly
understood.
First launched in 2014, the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric
Research Program connects the dots between birth defects and childhood
cancers, with the hope of fostering data-driven solutions for
personalized treatments. This program is named in honor of Gabriella
Miller, a fierce advocate for childhood cancer research who died of
brain cancer at the young age of 10. Ellyn Miller, Gabriella's mother,
when testifying at my Subcommittee last year, said that Gabriella told
her that she wanted elected officials to ``stop talking and start
doing.''
I urge my colleagues to stop talking and start doing by passing this
important bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 623, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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