The bipartisan “Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act”—a bill authored by U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper with co-authors U.S. Reps. Peter Welch and Tom Cole—is heading to the president’s desk. The bill funds pediatric medical research with the money currently designated for political nominating conventions.
“Our champion Rep. Gregg Harper is truly making waves for the Fragile X community right now, and the special needs community as a whole. This is one of the few bills to pass with bipartisan support in recent memory,” said NFXF Interim Executive Director, Jeffrey Cohen. “This, along with Senator Dick Durbin’s America HEALS Act is enough to give one hope.”
“As the father of a special needs child, I understand fully the challenges facing families raising kids with medical difficulties,” said Harper, whose 24-year-old son lives with Fragile X syndrome. “This bill appropriately places kids first by prioritizing research for our country’s most vulnerable children.”
The bill reallocates $126 million to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for children’s research from an account set aside for taxpayer funding of party conventions. The bill passed the Senate today by unanimous consent, moving the bill to the White House. House lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the legislation in December by a bipartisan vote of 295-103.
Additional details can be found on the press release Senate Sends Harper’s Pediatric Research Bill to President’s Desk.