Markwayne Mullin: “I am here today to ask the Senate to pass a bill that helps kids with cancer--the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act.…”

“I am here today to ask the Senate to pass a bill that helps kids with cancer--the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act. Now, very seldom do I actually read remarks. I typically like to just simply speak about it. But I think this is so important that I am actually going to read the remarks that are in front of me because I think it is important for people to know what we are doing, why we are doing it, and who she was--the advocate--and to understand why we are here today. Mikaela, whom the bill is named after, was a 16-year-old girl from Colorado. As a father of six, this is kind of personal to me, so this is why it is so passionate to me, too, because my son currently--while he doesn't have a cancer like this, we have been going to Rochester for over a year, and we are doing some experimentative stuff with him too. We got an opportunity--because it is not a death sentence. What he has isn't a death sentence. But we have had to go through this and continue to go through this. So it is even more personal to me now. In July of 2020, Mikaela was diagnosed with a rare pediatric cancer. She spent nearly 6 years traveling across the country for treatments while also coming to Capitol Hill to advocate for children with cancer. But unfortunately, she tragically passed away October 29 of this year-- advocating literally almost every day of her life. Mikaela was a fighter.…”