Press Release
Smith Meets with Monmouth County Delegate from JDRF Children’s Congress
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) met today with Lila Grace Emanuele, 11, of Monmouth County, to speak about her experience with type 1 diabetes and discuss legislative initiatives he is pushing to assist individuals suffering from chronic and debilitating disease.
Lila was one of 150 children selected from a pool of 1500 to be delegates in this year’s Children’s Congress, a biennial advocacy initiative sponsored by JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. The children, ages 4-17, spent three days in Washington, DC to meet with their congressional representatives and share their stories in the hopes of increasing our federal investment in type 1 diabetes research and treatment. “Diabetes does get in the way a lot,” said Lila. “But I never let it get the best of me.” Despite her struggle with the illness, Lila stays active as a competitive cheerleader and equestrian. “Type 1 diabetes is a challenging condition which affects the lives of 1.25 million children and adults across the country,” said Smith, co-chairman of numerous congressional health caucuses in the House to better align federal policy with the needs of patients. “Congress can and must do a better job of helping kids like Lila with type 1 diabetes so that they can live every day with as little disruption as possible and grow up healthy and strong.” Clinical trials are currently showing how umbilical cord blood and bone marrow can be used to treat type 1 diabetes, among a myriad of other diseases. Last month, Smith introduced the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2015/H.R. 2820, which extends two lifesaving programs—the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI) and the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation program. Both programs recruit bone marrow and cord blood donations, and match donors with recipients to provide adult stem cell treatments. “Treatments using adult stem cells are at the forefront of cutting-edge medical research, and are our best hope of finding treatments and cures for numerous diseases, including diabetes,” said Smith. Smith authored the first law (The Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005—P.L. 109-129) which created the NCBI program and continued the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation program. In addition to chairing the House subcommittee that oversees global health, Smith is co-chairman of several congressional health caucuses including the Autism, Alzheimer's, Lyme Disease, and Heart and Stroke caucuses. ### |