Kathy Castor: “I thank the gentleman for his leadership and for yielding the time. Mr. Speaker, we simply must do more for pediatric…”

“I thank the gentleman for his leadership and for yielding the time. Mr. Speaker, we simply must do more for pediatric cancer and the children and families who are impacted by it. That is why I urge adoption of S. 292. It is also H.R. 820. I would like to thank my colleagues--Congressman McCaul, Congresswoman Speier, Congressman Butterfield, and Congressman Kelly--for leading the charge on this. It has broad bipartisan support. Mr. Speaker, I mostly want to thank the families and the parents across America who have helped educate us--folks like Bonnie Woodworth; her husband, Scott; and kids Joe, Delaney, and Piper--who have educated me and many policymakers across the Tampa Bay area. See, they lost their daughter and sister, Tatum, in 2012 to pediatric cancer. On behalf of so many families who often are held back by the pain of losing a child or dealing with childhood cancer, they channeled their energy into making things better for other families. They have educated me and others, along with Mary Ann Massolio with the 1Voice Foundation, back in the Tampa Bay area. I am so happy that it is paying off today. What they have explained is that, after you suffer this diagnosis, it is very isolating. America doesn't do a lot of research on pediatric cancer. It is not coordinated very well, and the resources just are not there to help bring families together to get through these kinds of varied diagnoses.…”