[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2419-2420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            RARE DISEASE DAY

  (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, today is Rare Disease Day. It is the reason 
why I am wearing this special tie given to me by Minnesotan Erica 
Barnes as part of the Chloe's Fight Rare Disease Foundation's Wear 
Something Rare campaign.
  Now, a rare disease is generally defined as a condition that affects 
fewer than 200,000 people, and there are approximately 7,000 different 
types of rare diseases which impact the health of about 30 million 
Americans, half of which are children.
  February 29, a day which is rare in itself, is also set aside to 
bring awareness and improve access to treatment and medical 
representation for people living with a rare disease. It is recognized 
by over 80 countries around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, there is more that we can do to help. The House passed 
the 21st Century Cures Act with strong bipartisan support to help lower 
barriers to medical innovation and provide critical funding to find 
cures and treatment for medical afflictions, including rare diseases.
  So on this Rare Disease Day, we raise attention to this issue and the 
need to

[[Page 2420]]

continue our work to help those who are suffering from rare diseases.

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