[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12019-12020]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING CONGRESSMAN MARK TAKAI

  (Ms. HAHN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, I attended the funeral of one of 
our colleagues, my good friend, Congressman Mark Takai of Hawaii, who 
lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.
  Mark was a great leader. He served his country both in the military 
and the Hawaii National Guard, as well as being a public servant in the 
Hawaii State House and here in the U.S. Congress.
  He was taken from us far too soon. Mark was only 49 and left behind 
his wife and two children. He was a wonderful father and deserved more 
time with them.
  Pancreatic cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of any cancer. 
Just 6 percent survive 5 years past their diagnosis. While death rates 
for other cancers are declining, pancreatic cancer is projected to 
become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. in 
the next 4 years.
  Every year, pancreatic cancer survivors and family members walk the 
Halls of Congress advocating for more Federal funding for pancreatic 
cancer research, with the goal of doubling their survival rates by 
2020.

[[Page 12020]]

  For too long, those calls have fallen on deaf ears. But perhaps now, 
in the wake of losing one of our own colleagues, Congress will do what 
is right and dedicate much-needed funding to curing this deadly 
disease.

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