Senators to Lead Support for Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA-07) announced that Senators Tim Kaine (VA), Mark Warner (VA) and Orrin Hatch (UT) will provide support for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act through a companion bill and lead efforts for passage.
Passed by the House with strong bipartisan support in December and cosponsored by Congressmen Tom Cole (OK-04), Gregg Harper (MS-03) and Peter Welch (VT), H.R. 2019 redirects taxpayer dollars from political party conventions and instead uses funds for pediatric disease research.
Congressman Cole said, “I am pleased that Senators Kaine, Warner and Hatch will lead support efforts for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act in the upper chamber. As a former chief of staff at the Republican National Committee, I know firsthand that political party conventions can be funded easily by private sources alone, rather than using hardworking taxpayer dollars. If passed, H.R. 2019 would help taxpayer dollars serve a much better purpose by funding valuable research into children’s diseases, including cancer and autism, at the National Institutes of Health.”
Leader Cantor said, “Gabriella Miller was an inspiring young girl from Virginia who was only 9 years old when diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor the size of a walnut. Gabriella’s fight lives on with the bipartisan Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act. Putting a priority on federal funding for pediatric medical research at the NIH will help overcome childhood cancer, autism and many other diseases impacting our children. Thanks to the hard work of Congressmen Gregg Harper, Peter Welch, and Tom Cole the House chose to put finding cures for our kids before financing political conventions. With the bipartisan support of Senators Kaine, Warner, and Hatch, I hope the Senate acts swiftly to do the same and sends Gabriella’s bill to the President’s desk to be signed into law so we can help more children.”
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Contact:
Sarah Corley (202) 225 - 6165 (Cole)
Megan Whittemore (202) 225 - 4000 (Cantor)