[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2895]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            RARE DISEASE DAY

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is Rare Disease 
Day, and I stand to help raise awareness for more than 7,000 different 
types of different rare diseases and disorders that affect more than 
300 million people nationwide.
  Today, the National Institutes of Health is celebrating its eighth 
annual Rare Disease Day, and I applaud their efforts to bring awareness 
to this very important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, in the United States, a condition is considered rare if 
it affects fewer than 200,000 people combined in a particular group. In 
the U.S. today, there are approximately 30 million people living with 
rare disease, many of whom are inflicted with diseases whose symptoms 
are so complex that they simply remain undiagnosed. It is estimated 
that 80 percent of rare diseases are genetic in origin, and about half 
of all rare diseases affect children.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join me not just today but 
every day in helping to raise awareness on this very important issue 
that affects so many people in this Nation and around the world.

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