Barbara Lee: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in strong support of this bipartisan amendment. Recent research has found…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in strong support of this bipartisan amendment. Recent research has found that food allergies are far more common in the United States than previously thought, and the prevalence has been increasing in the last two decades. Food allergies can cause severe reactions and can even be deadly. Allergic reactions to food lead to more than 200,000 emergency room visits each year. The Consortium of Food Allergy Research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is supporting research to identify the causes of and treatments for food allergies. The proposed funding increase will allow this critical research to continue and to accelerate. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I thank the gentleman from California again for offering it.”