Congressman Chris Collins Applauds Senate Passage of Kids First Research Act

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) applauded the Senate’s passage of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act (H.R. 2019) today.

This legislation, which Congressman Collins was a co-sponsor of in the House, would eliminate federal funding for presidential campaigns and party conventions and reallocate the funding to expand pediatric research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“The Senate passage of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act is a bipartisan achievement that will have a positive impact on children in New York’s 27th Congressional District and across the country,” said Congressman Collins.

“The millions of federal taxpayer dollars we currently spend on these political party activities will go to better use to help the NIH make huge strides in research and clinical trials aimed at curing and preventing juvenile (type 1) diabetes, childhood cancers, autism, and Down Syndrome, to name a few. I’m glad the Senate realized the need to reprioritize our nation’s spending and put the health and wellbeing of our children ahead of presidential politics,” continued Congressman Collins.

Congressman Collins pushed for passage of the legislation last year alongside several local families impacted by juvenile diabetes.  Collins also encouraged the general public to join the effort by becoming citizen co-sponsors of the bill.

This legislation has the support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Autism Speaks, the Children’s Hospital Association, the Coalition of Pediatric Medical Research, the National Down Syndrome Society and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, among others.

The legislation is named for Gabriella Miller, a girl from Virginia who fought to raise awareness as to the need for pediatric cancer research and who died of brain cancer last year at the age of 10. The House passed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act on December 11, 2013 in a 294-103 vote.