McConnell Praises Louisvillians Who Helped Make It Happen
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell praised the Senate on Friday for its passage of the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act.
The legislation authorizes $30 million a year for the National Cancer Institute to enhance, expand and intensify research into causes of and treatments for childhood cancers. It also calls for the creation of a National Childhood Cancer Registry to help track the prevalence of childhood cancers and search for troubling patterns.
“While our researchers have made great strides in the fight against cancer, we still lose far too many children to this dreaded disease,” Senator McConnell said. “It is my hope that this legislation will drive the National Cancer Institute to make childhood cancer research a top priority and provide new hope to those children who fight this disease every day.”
“I want to thank all of the parents and grandparents who I met in the process of working on this legislation, particularly Tom Dunbar and Carol Crockett,” Senator McConnell said. “I remember when Carol approached me at a grocery store and told me the story of her granddaughter who was diagnosed with cancer. Her story, and others like it, inspired me, and helped make this legislation achievable.”
Tom Dunbar, of Louisville, Ky., who is Chairman of the Board of Trustees for CureSearch/National Childhood Cancer Foundation, also commended the Senate for passing this significant legislation.
“Every member of the Kentucky delegation played a role in the passage of this act, and none greater than our Senators, Jim Bunning and Mitch McConnell,” Tom Dunbar said. “Cancer kills more children in America than any other disease, and we are optimistic that the promise of this funding will result in the start of new trials, and confidence they will be completed, so more of the 13,000 kids diagnosed each year will live full lives.”
The Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act now goes to the President for his signature.
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