Fighting Disease

Spurred by a Mississippi child’s battle with the disease, I authored the original “Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education (MD-CARE) Act,” which was designed to focus more federal resources toward curing muscular dystrophy.  Prior to this act, no legislation had specifically addressed Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed in childhood.

Since this act was signed, federal research has paved the way for groundbreaking therapies, extending lives of muscular dystrophy patients by an average of 12 years, and significantly improving their quality of life.  Some of these children are now even going to college, getting married and having children of their own.

Furthermore, I believe curing Alzheimer’s disease is our charge for the 21st Century.  I authored the “EUREKA Act,” which stands for “Ensuring Useful Research Expenditures is Key for Alzheimer’s.”

The legislation established prize competitions for major research breakthroughs, which demonstrate success.  EUREKA runs parallel to federal research, encouraging public-private partnerships and putting together the best minds for research.