Political Quotes

“Madam President, first, let me thank the Senator from New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen, for her extraordinary leadership on diabetes. She has worked night and day on this issue the entire time she has served in the Senate. Together we formed a bipartisan partnership that recognizes that diabetes affects men and women and children of all races, political affiliations, parts of the country. It is ageless. It simply does not care. During American Diabetes Month, it is critical that we continue to raise awareness about the burden of diabetes on the 38 million Americans living with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. This is an astonishing 12 percent of the U.S. population, and it includes more than 116,000 adults in my State of Maine. For those with type 1 diabetes in particular, there is no day off from this disease. I know so many children who were diagnosed as children with type 1, and this is a disease they will have for the rest of their lives, absent a cure. They include a 10-year-old boy whom I met my very first year in the Senate, in 1997. I will never forget his looking up at me and saying: Senator Collins, I wish I could just have one day off each year from my diabetes--my birthday or Christmas--just one day. It was then that I knew I had to dedicate my efforts toward better treatments, earlier diagnosis, and one day a cure of this devastating disease. Since then, my life has been enriched by getting to know so many people who have type 1 diabetes.…”