[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8518]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE MODDERN CURES ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise as a proud 
cosponsor of H.R. 3116, the MODDERN Cures Act.
  As most know, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also known as 
Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disorder 
that causes the loss of voluntary muscle control, often resulting in 
paralysis.
  As a former rehabilitation therapist and manager, I have witnessed 
firsthand the devastating impact that this disease takes of individual 
lives and family members.
  The life expectancy after a diagnosis with ALS is an average of 2 to 
5 years. Veterans are twice as likely to experience and to die from ALS 
as the general public. What is even worse, Mr. Speaker, is there 
remains no cure.
  The MODDERN Cures Act would speed up the development of new and 
better treatments for patients with chronic diseases and disabilities, 
including ALS, by removing barriers to medical innovation.
  The legislation encourages research on treatments which, quite 
frankly, have been set aside in the lab, but hold promise for treating 
ALS and other chronic diseases and disabilities.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to support this important 
piece of legislation.

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