[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 90 (Thursday, May 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3897-S3898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DR. EMMANUEL BILIRAKIS AND HONORABLE JENNIFER WEXTON NATIONAL PLAN TO 
                          END PARKINSON'S ACT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 2365 and the Senate proceed to its 
immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2365) to direct the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services to carry out a national project to prevent, 
     diagnose, treat, and cure Parkinson's, to be known as the 
     National Parkinson's Project, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the 
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read 
a third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill was ordered to a third reading and was read the third time.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I know of no further debate on the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate on the bill, the 
bill having been read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill 
pass?
  The bill (H.R. 2365) was passed.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, a few moments ago, the Senate 
unanimously passed the National Plan to End Parkinson's Act, a bill 
that for the first time marshals Agencies across the government to 
tackle this disease--this awful disease--in a comprehensive way.
  I thank Senators Murphy and Capito and everyone who championed this 
bill. Parkinson's is truly a terrible illness. It has taken an awful 
toll on my own family. My mom suffers from this disease. It is very 
hard on us. I know Parkinson's has affected the families of others in 
this Chamber as well as over a million Americans in this country.
  This bill, for the first time, will unite the government in an effort 
to find a cure for this disease once and for all by promoting better 
Parkinson's research, encourage more effective treatments and other 
measures. With this bill, we are taking one step closer to bringing 
this awful disease to an end, and I thank everyone who made it 
possible.
  I also, in particular, wish to thank Representative Jennifer Wexton, 
of Virginia, who spent months championing this bill even after being 
diagnosed with a particularly rare form of Parkinson's. She is an 
inspiration. While many would have been discouraged and lost hope with 
a disease like this, she has endured. She has used her

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struggle to help others. Now the bill goes to the President's desk.

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