[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 23678-23681]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   EXPRESSING SUPPORT OF CONGRESS FOR ACTIVITIES REGARDING MULTIPLE 
                               SCLEROSIS

  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 271) expressing the support of 
Congress for activities to increase public awareness of multiple 
sclerosis.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 271

       Whereas multiple sclerosis is a chronic and often disabling 
     disease of the central nervous system which often first 
     appears in people between the ages of 20 and 40, with 
     lifelong physical and emotional effects;
       Whereas multiple sclerosis is twice as common in women as 
     in men;
       Whereas an estimated 250,000 to 350,000 individuals suffer 
     from multiple sclerosis nationally;
       Whereas symptoms of multiple sclerosis can be mild, such as 
     numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss 
     of vision;
       Whereas the progress, severity, and specific symptoms of 
     multiple sclerosis in any one person cannot yet be predicted;
       Whereas the annual cost to each affected individual 
     averages $34,000, and the total cost can exceed $2 million 
     over an individual's lifetime;
       Whereas the annual cost of treating all people who suffer 
     from multiple sclerosis in the United States is nearly $9 
     billion;
       Whereas the cause of multiple sclerosis remains unknown, 
     but genetic factors are believed to play a role in 
     determining a person's risk for developing multiple 
     sclerosis;
       Whereas many of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis can be 
     treated with medications and rehabilitative therapy;
       Whereas new treatments exist that can slow the course of 
     the disease, and reduce its severity;
       Whereas medical experts recommend that all people newly 
     diagnosed with relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis begin 
     disease-modifying therapy;
       Whereas finding the genes responsible for susceptibility to 
     multiple sclerosis may lead to the development of new and 
     more effective ways to treat the disease;
       Whereas increased funding for the National Institutes of 
     Health would provide the opportunity for research and the 
     creation of programs to increase awareness, prevention, and 
     education; and
       Whereas Congress as an institution, and Members of Congress 
     as individuals, are in unique positions to help raise public 
     awareness about the detection and treatment of multiple 
     sclerosis and to support the fight against multiple 
     sclerosis: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) all Americans should take an active role in the fight 
     to end the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis on 
     individuals, their families, and the economy;
       (2) the role played by national and community organizations 
     and health care professionals in promoting the importance of 
     continued funding for research, and in providing information 
     about and access to the best medical treatment and support 
     services for people with multiple sclerosis should be 
     recognized and applauded;
       (3) the Federal Government has a responsibility to--
       (A) continue to fund research so that the causes of, and 
     improved treatment for, multiple sclerosis may be discovered;
       (B) continue to consider ways to improve access to, and the 
     quality of, health care services for people with multiple 
     sclerosis;
       (C) endeavor to raise public awareness about the symptoms 
     of multiple sclerosis; and
       (D) endeavor to raise health professional's awareness about 
     diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and the best course of 
     treatment for people with the disease.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gutknecht). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Brown) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin).


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on House Concurrent Resolution 271.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Louisiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 271, which expresses 
the support of Congress for activities to increase public awareness of 
multiple sclerosis. I salute the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Weygand), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus), the gentlewoman 
from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Smith) for their work in bringing this resolution to the floor today.
  Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling, disease of the 
central nervous system. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the 
limbs, or they can be terribly severe, like paralysis or loss of 
vision.
  Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40, but 
the unpredictable physical and emotional threats can be lifelong. The 
progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS for any person cannot 
yet be predicted; but advances in research and treatment are giving 
hope to those who have been afflicted by the disease.
  Thanks to the dedication of Congress over the last 6 years in 
doubling the budget of the NIH, many advances have been made in the war 
against MS. Over the last decade, for instance, our knowledge of the 
immune system has grown at an amazing rate. Major gains have been made 
in recognizing and defining the role of the system in the development 
of MS lesions, giving scientists the ability to devise ways to alter 
the immune response.
  New imaging tools, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, have redefined 
the natural history and are proving invaluable in monitoring the 
disease activity. Scientists are now able, for example, to visualize 
and follow the development of MS lesions in the brain and spinal cord 
using MRIs, and this ability is a tremendous aid in the assessment of 
new therapies and can speed the process of evaluating new treatments.
  With all the important contributions made by bioimaging and 
bioengineering in the field of MS diagnostics, we would be remiss at 
this time if we did not make reference to the House-passed National 
Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Establishment Act, H.R. 
1795, which was sponsored by my colleague on the Committee on Commerce, 
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr). Magnetic resonance 
imaging and computed tomography have revolutionized the practice of 
medicine in the past quarter century; yet there is still not a center 
at NIH that brings imaging and engineering into focus.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage Members to communicate with those in the 
other body concerning the importance of enacting H.R. 1795, and ask 
that we all join together in voting for this concurrent resolution, H. 
Con. Res. 271, to express our strong support for increasing public 
awareness of multiple sclerosis and hopefully an end to the dreaded 
disease through proper treatment, diagnosis, and, eventually one day, 
prevention.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support the resolution introduced by the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr.

[[Page 23679]]

Weygand), which focuses our attention on a serious chronic illness that 
currently affects as many as one-third of a million individuals in this 
country, mostly women.
  Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder that alters the lives of 
those afflicted by it in profound and tragically unpredictable ways. It 
is notoriously difficult to diagnose because its constellation of 
symptoms vary from patient to patient and often mimic other illnesses.
  Once it is diagnosed, it is impossible to predict the severity or the 
course of the illness. The range of symptoms patients may experience is 
broad: extreme fatigue, impaired vision, loss of balance and muscle 
coordination, slurred speech, tremors, stiffness, difficulty walking, 
short-term memory loss, mood swings, and, in severe cases, partial or 
complete paralysis.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, individuals have no way of knowing whether or 
when they may experience these symptoms. The uncertainty around MS 
obviously heightens the trauma for patients and their families, and it 
creates unique challenges for providers and researchers alike.
  There is no cure for MS, yet; but there have been significant 
advances in treating and understanding this illness. The Nation owes a 
debt of gratitude to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which not 
only funds groundbreaking research into the causes and treatment of MS, 
but raises public awareness and advocates for more public sector 
involvement to combat this disease.
  The resolution offered by the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Weygand) affirms that we are listening to the MS Society, to women and 
men with MS and their families, and to the researchers, including 
researchers at the National Institutes of Health funded by taxpayers 
working hard to beat this illness.
  While I believe, Mr. Speaker, that the Weygand resolution is 
important, we should be doing so much more on health care in this 
Chamber. We should be passing a prescription drug benefit for Medicare 
beneficiaries and do something about high prescription drug prices. 
That is the best thing we could do for people that are victims of 
multiple sclerosis. We should be passing a Patients' Bill of Rights. 
That is the second best thing we should do for people afflicted with 
multiple sclerosis.
  This resolution helps, but this Congress should get back to town, get 
back to work, pass the Patients' Bill of Rights, pass the prescription 
drug legislation, and pass this concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
271.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my 
friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry).
  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Louisiana for 
yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of this resolution, I rise in support of 
it and of the goals that it puts before Congress and the country. MS 
affects my family, and over the last few years, I have learned a lot 
about the disease and about the efforts under way to fight it.
  I would like to make just three brief points on this resolution.
  First, there are some truly heroic efforts going on every day all 
around the country to battle this disease. MS Societies in community 
after community help raise funds for research, help increase awareness, 
and help MS patients and their families to deal with the challenges 
that this disease brings.
  At the National Institutes of Health and other institutions, some of 
the country's best minds and most caring people are working hard every 
day to find answers to the many questions which remain about this 
disease. I think it is appropriate for us to recognize and honor those 
efforts.
  Secondly, this Congress is on track to double over 5 years' medical 
research funding at NIH. Much of the medical research is conducted by 
private companies and researchers; but the Federal Government has an 
important role to play, and we have got to pull our weight if we are to 
find answers to diseases such as MS. I am proud this Congress has set 
doubling the funding for NIH as a goal, and we are on our way at 
achieving it.
  Third, there are some unnecessary impediments to providing MS 
patients with the best possible treatments, and we have to commit to 
removing those impediments as soon as possible. There are drugs, for 
example, that have shown very promising results in Canada and Europe, 
but are unavailable to patients in the United States because of FDA's 
interpretation of the Orphan Drug Act, which, in my view, is misguided 
and certainly contrary to the intentions of Congress when it originally 
passed the Orphan Drug Act.
  I have introduced legislation on this matter and the Committee on 
Commerce has begun to look into it, but for those of us concerned about 
fighting MS and a host of other diseases, correcting this problem with 
the Orphan Drug Act must be a priority in the next Congress.
  I certainly look forward to working with my friend from Louisiana and 
all of my colleagues to making sure that very soon MS is a disease of 
the past.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), who strongly supports the 
Patients' Bill of Rights and prescription drug legislation and worked 
on this issue also.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman in charge 
of this resolution on the other side, as well as the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Brown) on this side.
  Mr. Speaker, I do rise in support of this concurrent resolution. I 
had several friends who were stricken by this disease in their early to 
late twenties, so it has become second nature to me in trying to fight 
to ensure that we get the type of support and the type of funding for 
such a disease.
  Mr. Speaker, we recognize that multiple sclerosis is twice as common 
in women as in men, and while we tend to recognize the importance of 
fighting this disease for everyone, it is clearly one that poses a 
problem with women who have been stricken with this disease. My friend, 
who had three children, once she received word that she had this, her 
husband left her and she was there with this disease with the three 
children. So it is very devastating to know that I speak from a 
personal standpoint, in a sense, that young women who had finished 
school with me were stricken with this.
  We also recognize, Mr. Speaker, that an estimated 250,000 to 350,000 
individuals suffer with multiple sclerosis nationwide, and this is why 
there is a critical need for the Patients' Bill of Rights and for 
prescription drugs, because it is tremendously expensive to have the 
medicine to treat this type of disease. Oft times death comes.
  So I come today to just simply say I too support this resolution, and 
suggest that we must do everything we can to provide the funding and 
the support for those who have been stricken with this very deadly 
disease.
  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I am now very pleased to yield 5 minutes to 
the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), whose district includes 
the National Institutes of Health, whose husband serves on the board of 
the Children's Inn at NIH with my own wife Cecile, and who does such a 
great job in representing and promoting the interests of our great 
National Institutes of Health in Maryland.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time 
and for his very laudatory introduction. I appreciate that very much, 
and appreciate his handling this bill on the floor and his support of 
it. I also want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) for his 
work on health, which has been extraordinary.
  As a cosponsor of H. Con. Res. 271, I am delighted to be here to 
express my very strong support of it. It expresses the support of 
Congress for activities to increase public awareness of multiple 
sclerosis, and it calls on Congress to increase funding for the 
National Institutes of Health. In fact, we have been doing that, and I 
must commend this House of Representatives for embarking on that 5-year 
plan to double the budget by 2003 for the National Institutes of 
Health.

[[Page 23680]]

  I represent the National Institutes of Health, as the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) has mentioned, and have been a lead in getting a 
letter out to our colleagues, which over 100 have signed, to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter), who chairs an appropriations 
subcommittee, asking for continuation of that plan.
  As I mentioned, we have been on the right road to success, and I urge 
our conference committee on the appropriations of the Labor-HHS bill to 
continue the commitment and fund NIH $20.5 billion, which is a full 15 
percent increase, an increase of $2.7 billion.
  I am pleased to note that the National Institute of Neurological 
Disorders and Stroke, which funds the research on MS, has seen 
corresponding increases of 15.1 percent, bringing the fiscal year 2000 
budget to $1.35 billion.
  But let us look at the real cost of neurological disorders, which 
number more than 600. They strike an estimated 50 million Americans 
each year. They exact an incalculable personal toll and an annual 
economic cost of hundreds of billions of dollars in medical expenses 
and lost productivity. In fact, MS costs an individual an average of 
$34,000 annually for therapy and treatment, and impacts as many as 
350,000 Americans.
  With passage of this resolution, we will speed up the race to find a 
cure for MS. Passage of this resolution is vital because we also need 
to increase public awareness of MS.
  MS is an autoimmune disease in which the symptoms are believed to 
occur when the immune system turns against itself. MS is a life-long, 
unpredictable disease that randomly attacks the central nervous system, 
brain and spinal cord, and more than twice as many women as men have 
MS.
  Passage of H. Con. Res. 271 will leverage H.R. 4665, the Children's 
Health Act of 2000, which was recently passed by this House.
  Title XIX of this bill, NIH Initiative on Autoimmune Diseases, 
requires the director of NIH to expand, intensify and coordinate the 
activities of NIH with respect to autoimmune diseases. This includes 
forming an Autoimmune Diseases Coordinating Committee and Advisory 
Council that will develop a plan for NIH activities related to 
autoimmune diseases and to require different institutes within NIH to 
provide a detailed report to Congress specifying how funds were spent 
on autoimmune diseases.

                              {time}  2000

  Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 271 is a good bill. We must not forget that 
virtually every hour someone is newly diagnosed with MS.
  I would also like to take a moment and salute the National Multiple 
Sclerosis Society for the work they have done over the past 50 years to 
find a cure for MS and to improve the quality of life for people with 
MS and their families.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 271 to 
support the health of our Nation's citizens, and I particularly want to 
thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) for affording me this 
time at this hour for this important resolution.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to support H. Con. Res. 271, a 
resolution sponsored by the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Weygand). 
This resolution brings attention to a very particularly serious 
disease, multiple sclerosis, that hits one third of a million 
Americans, especially women.
  It is important that this body encourage more research from whether 
it is a Multiple Sclerosis Society or the National Institutes of 
Health. It is also important, Mr. Speaker, that this Congress complete 
its work before it goes home, before it adjourns sine die, that it 
complete its work on prescription drug legislation and complete its 
work on a patients' bill of rights.
  Those two pieces of legislation will do more for patients suffering 
from multiple sclerosis than anything else we can do. It will do more 
for patients suffering from a whole host of very serious diseases. This 
Congress has passed resolutions addressing in the last month, but the 
Congress has failed to do the real work that we are here for, and that 
is to provide prescription drugs for, and under Medicare for, senior 
citizens to deal with the high costs of prescription drugs and to pass 
a patients' bill of rights, which will turn the authority of medical 
decisions to doctors and nurses and to patients and to take that 
authority and take the decision-making away from insurance company 
bureaucrats.
  While I ask Congress to pass H. Con. Res. 271, I also ask this body 
to pass a prescription drug bill and the patients' bill of rights.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me first commend my friend, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) for his attention to this resolution 
and for his help in supporting and getting this adopted by the House 
tonight. This is indeed an important statement by the House of 
Representatives about our interests and the Nation's interests in 
finding better cures, therapies and, hopefully, preventive techniques 
for this awful disease.
  I also want to say that it is our extreme hope that we could agree on 
a prescription drug proposal this year before we leave, too. I know 
those negotiations are going on. I would hope we could complete them 
before we leave, and I certainly hope, as we all do, we could agree on 
HMO reform before we leave.
  I can assure the gentleman that if, for obvious reasons, we are 
incapable of reaching final accord with the White House and the Members 
of the other body on these two important issues, they are going to rank 
high on our committee's agenda next year, and we are going to address 
those concerns as rapidly as we can next year.
  But I want to again commend the gentleman and my friends on both 
sides of the aisle tonight for their support of this important 
concurrent resolution. I particularly again want to congratulate Tony 
Morella and his wife, the gentlewoman from Maryland, (Mrs. Morella) who 
represents NIH for their extraordinary dedication to that facility. 
That facility daily finds cures and therapies and saves lives, and it 
is incredible for its work, particularly with children stricken with 
awful diseases. I want to again thank that incredible couple, Connie 
and Tony Morella, for their excellent representation of that facility 
here in this Chamber.
  Mr. Speaker, NIH always enjoys great bipartisan support, and it will 
continue to do so as we struggle to find answers to these terrible 
diseases that ravage our population. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of 
the resolution.
  Mr. WEYGAND. Mr. Speaker, there are many individuals to thank today 
who have fought for the arrival of this Resolution on the House floor 
this evening.
  On this side of the Capitol, the Democratic Whip David Bonior and his 
staff helped move this bill to the floor today. Also, my friend and 
colleague, Chief Deputy Whip for the Majority, Roy Blunt, and his 
staff--Trevor Blackann in particular, also helped us immensely.
  Many other members of congress and their staff have played a crucial 
role here, and I especially want to thank Ranking Member Sherrod Brown 
and Chairman Bilirakis for moving this bill from the Commerce 
Committee's Subcommittee on health and Environment.
  Karl Moeller of my staff deserves a great deal of recognition for all 
of his efforts as well.
  In the other body, Senator Jack Reed introduced our Resolution and 
worked to pass this measure with bipartisan support. I would like to 
praise his work on behalf of MS patients everywhere.
  Most importantly, however, is the effort put forward by the Rhode 
Island chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and their 
members in Rhode Island.
  This Resolution is the culmination of a grass-roots effort, and a 
clear example of bipartisanship and democracy at work.
  While I was passing through the metal detectors in the Rhode Island 
Airport, I met a security guard, Walter Shepherd, whose daughter lived 
with MS and whose very close friend still suffers from this illness. 
Mr. Shepherd asked me and Jack Reed what we were doing to help.

[[Page 23681]]

  For Walter, and the hundreds of thousands of others who are impacted 
by this illness, this resolution is on the floor today as a sign that 
Congress knows of the battle they fight and win each day.
  There is a great deal of uncertainty for someone facing the early 
stages of a chronic illness.
  MS patients may first call their doctor because of some difficulty 
with their coordination.
  Or perhaps they see an eye doctor because of a problem with their 
vision--only to learn that these are signs of a much more serious 
disease.
  350,000 Americans have felt that uncertainty first hand, and now live 
every day of their life with MS.
  In Rhode Island, 3,000 people fight this illness. And for each, there 
are friends and family who fight by their side.
  As MS patients know, the nerve fibers in the body's central nervous 
system are coated with a fatty sheath that protects our nerves from 
damage. Multiple Sclerosis attacks the protective sheath around the 
nervous system, and this results in endless complications for MS 
patients.
  Muscles, vital organs, and normal body functions are the primary 
targets of this illness. But just as harmful are the by-products of its 
progressive attack--pain, paralysis, blindness, an inability to walk, 
and even the loss of independence.
  Health insurance costs, medical bills, the need for physical therapy 
and costly medications--all of these concerns come into play when a 
patient is faced with a disease that has an annual cost per patient of 
some $34,000.
  But there is hope. Our federal commitment to finding treatments for 
such illnesses should remain paramount as we finalize legislation in 
these final days of this session of Congress.
  The good news is that with each day that passes, MS is brought closer 
to extinction.
  This illness, once treated with herbs and X-rays, is now able to be 
stabilized by modern medications.
  Because of modern medical treatments and therapies, patients with MS 
are able to live full and productive lives, and have seen their life 
expectancy increase with each new technology.
  And while there isn't a cure today, I believe that day is coming 
quickly.
  To reach this goal, I have joined with many others in Congress to 
double the budget of the National Institutes of Health.
  Many members and I, in both the House and in the other body, see this 
increase as an investment against human suffering.
  NIH researchers, working primarily in hospitals, research 
laboratories and teaching facilities across the nation, are looking for 
cures to thousands upon thousands of illnesses.
  While research on MS at the NIH is ongoing, I want to commend the 
National Multiple Sclerosis Society and its members for realizing that 
NIH research on any number of neurological illnesses might find the 
cure for MS.
  Our federal commitment to all medical research at the NIH must be 
supported. We have seen time and again that it is far less costly, in 
terms of dollars and suffering, to research and prevent an illness than 
to treat the symptoms.
  And finally, as the House sponsor of this legislation, I encourage 
medical professionals in our communities to learn more about this 
illness, and to support efforts that will bring an end to this disease.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution which 
draws attention to the chronic and often crippling disease of multiple 
sclerosis.
  This issue is very personal to me, as I have known two people who 
suffered from this illness. The sister of one of my staffers, Mary 
Uram, ailed with MS for over a decade before she passed away. Another 
friend of mine died at an early age due to this debilitating disease.
  Generally, people are diagnosed with MS between the ages of 20 and 
40, but the physical and emotional effects can be lifelong. MS is 
devastating--not only to their medical well-being but also to the 
personal and financial stability of the individual and those caring for 
them. Often, this ailment can result in loss of employment and 
isolation from a community.
  It is fortunate that advances in research and treatment are giving 
hope to those affected by the disease. This resolution will help to 
increase awareness and demonstrate Congressional support for research 
into the causes and possible treatments for MS. It will also recognize 
the significant contributions of national and community organizations 
in this effort.
  I would like to end by commending Representative Bob Weygand and his 
staffer, Karl, on their hard work in brining this bipartisan bill to 
the floor.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 271: 
``Expressing the Sense of the Congress for Activities to Increase 
Public Awareness of Multiple Sclerosis.'' This resolution, introduced 
by Mr. Weygand, addresses a disease that can strike any American.
  Multiple sclerosis is an often debilitating, chronic disease of the 
central nervous system, which strikes individuals in their third, 
fourth and fifth decades of life. Its onset can be elusive, and the 
course of the disease unpredictable; symptoms come and go, and can 
range in severity from mild numbness in the limbs to paralysis. 
However, the toll of multiple sclerosis on America's public health is 
real.
  H. Con. Res. 271 identifies the need for varied approaches to 
fighting this still somewhat mysterious disease. It highlights the need 
for an increase in Federally-funded research into causes and treatments 
of multiple sclerosis, including identification of genetic factors and 
development of more effective therapies. The bill also recognizes the 
importance of getting the most up-to-date medical information to health 
professionals and the American public. These initiatives may enhance 
the quality of patient care, which is the third part of the equation. 
H. Con. Res. 271 promotes increased and equal access to quality health 
care for all individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This is 
something I endorse for our entire nation, and setting up model 
programs around diseases as ravaging as multiple sclerosis is an 
excellent place to start.
  I support this resolution, and hope my colleagues will do so as well.
  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gibbons). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
271.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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