[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 7068-7069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 115--DESIGNATING MAY 2005 AS ``NATIONAL CYSTIC 
                       FIBROSIS AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. SALAZAR (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. 
Dole, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Kennedy, and Mrs. Feinstein) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 115

       Whereas cystic fibrosis, characterized by chronic lung 
     infections and digestive disorders, is a fatal lung disease;
       Whereas cystic fibrosis is 1 of the most common genetic 
     diseases in the United States and 1 for which there is no 
     known cure;
       Whereas more than 10,000,000 Americans are unknowing 
     carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene and individuals must 
     have 2 copies to have the disease;
       Whereas 1 of every 3,500 babies born in the United States 
     is born with cystic fibrosis;
       Whereas newborn screening for cystic fibrosis has been 
     implemented by 12 States and facilitates early diagnosis and 
     treatment which improves health and longevity;
       Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 
     the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation recommend that all States 
     consider newborn screening for cystic fibrosis;
       Whereas approximately 30,000 people in the United States 
     have cystic fibrosis, many of them children;
       Whereas the average life expectancy of an individual with 
     cystic fibrosis is in the mid-thirties, an improvement from a 
     life expectancy of 10 years in the 1960s, but still 
     unacceptably short;
       Whereas prompt, aggressive treatment of the symptoms of 
     cystic fibrosis can extend the lives of people who have the 
     disease;
       Whereas recent advances in cystic fibrosis research have 
     produced promising leads in gene, protein, and drug therapies 
     beneficial to people who have the disease;
       Whereas this innovative research is progressing faster and 
     is being conducted more aggressively than ever before, due in 
     part to the establishment of a model clinical trials network 
     by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation;
       Whereas the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation marks its 50th year 
     in 2005, continues to fund a research pipeline for more than 
     2 dozen potential therapies, and funds a nationwide network 
     of care centers that extend the length and the quality of 
     life for people with cystic fibrosis, but lives continue to 
     be lost to this disease every day; and
       Whereas education of the public on cystic fibrosis, 
     including the symptoms of the disease, increases knowledge 
     and understanding of cystic fibrosis and promotes early 
     diagnosis: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates May 2005 as ``National Cystic Fibrosis 
     Awareness Month'';
       (2) calls on the people of the United States to promote 
     awareness of cystic fibrosis and actively participate in 
     support of research to control or cure cystic fibrosis, by 
     observing the month with appropriate ceremonies and 
     activities; and
       (3) supports the goals of--
       (A) increasing the quality of life for individuals with 
     cystic fibrosis by promoting public knowledge and 
     understanding in a manner that will result in earlier 
     diagnoses;
       (B) encouraging increased resources for research; and
       (C) increasing levels of support for people who have cystic 
     fibrosis and their families.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President. I rise today to submit a bipartisan 
resolution deeming May 2005 as ``National Cystic Fibrosis Month.'' I 
wish more than anything that this resolution were not necessary, and 
that we had already cured this terrible disease. But CF continues to 
haunt thousands of families, and with this resolution, the Senate is 
saying to those families that we hear your suffering and we are going 
to do all we can to ensure we help stop it.
  I have seen many advances in medicine since my childhood on the ranch 
in Conejos County, CO. These advances have opened up opportunities for 
people living with disabilities and debilitating disease. People are 
living longer and healthier lives, even as they face debilitating 
diseases.
  One such disease is Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that leads to 
life-threatening lung infections. Through advances in medication and 
other treatments, people with CF are living longer lives. In the 1950s, 
people with CF rarely lived to school age. Today, life expectancy for 
people with CF has reached into the thirties. That is an improvement--
and as a result people with CF get many more years to spend with their 
families and to follow their dreams--but it is not good enough.
  This resolution supports the CF Foundation's goal of increased 
screening of newborns for CF. The earlier the disease is detected, the 
more likely that treatments can extend life. It also applauds the 
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's work to create and maintain communication 
among researchers on Cystic Fibrosis across the nation. As a result of 
the CF Foundation's efforts, close to 200 centers across the nation are 
sharing information. That research and experience can improve lives.
  Following the tradition of my predecessor and fellow Coloradan, Ben 
Nighthorse Campbell, I have submitted this resolution to send a clear 
signal to the country that we are dedicated to defeating this disease. 
The resolution has broad and deep bipartisan support, and I thank my 
colleagues for the dedication to health research on Cystic Fibrosis.

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