Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2410, the Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment Act. I want to commend my friends Representative Danny Davis and Representative Dr. Michael Burgess for their tireless work in this space. Both of these men have a lifetime of service in the delivery of healthcare, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess). I thank both of them for their incredible work. I have been a lifetime advocate, Mr. Speaker, for addressing sickle cell disease, and I am proud to cosponsor this bill. I have done so in previous Congresses. Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic blood disorder. It affects approximately 100,000 individuals, primarily African Americans, throughout the country. Sickle cell disease awareness is significant to me for many reasons. One, because this disorder affects many of my constituents in North Carolina. It is significant, Mr. Speaker, because I had a dear cousin, whose name was Rubie Butterfield Mizell, who, in 1972, passed away from this disease in Opa-locka, Florida. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells with abnormal types of hemoglobin, often causing anemia, jaundice, and the formation of gallstones. What is truly frightening is that sickle cell disease does not have a cure.…”