WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today delivered a speech honoring Alexa Brown, an 11 year-old Northwest Ohioan who recently passed away due to brain cancer. Brown announced a joint letter he wrote with Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) urging Congressional colleagues to direct an additional $10 million for pediatric cancer research.

“Alexa was an active, happy, and beautiful little girl.  Her courage in the face of such tragic circumstances was inspiring,” Brown said. “Unfortunately, Alexa’s battle with cancer is not an isolated case.  Cancer is the number one cause of non-accidental death in children.  It is responsible for more deaths from ages one to nineteen than asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and AIDS combined. And in the Clyde area of Ohio – in the Northwest part of the state – nineteen other children have been diagnosed with a form of invasive cancer in the last decade.”

Brown continued: “Today – on the last day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – Senators Voinovich and I have sent a letter to appropriators urging that the final Labor-HHS package include $10 million specifically for pediatric cancer research.”

Brown’s complete remarks as delivered are available below. Brown’s joint letter with Voinovich can be found HERE.

“On August 6, Alexa Brown, an 11-year old from Clyde, Ohio, died of brain cancer.

“Alexa was an active, happy, and beautiful little girl.  Her courage in the face of such tragic circumstances was inspiring.

“Unfortunately, Alexa’s battle with cancer is not an isolated case. 

“Cancer is the number one cause of non-accidental death in children.  It’s responsible for more deaths from ages 1 to 19 than asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and AIDS combined.

“In Northwest Ohio, in the area around Clyde, Ohio, 19 other children have been diagnosed with a form of invasive cancer in the last decade.

“Public health officials are trying to get to the bottom of the environmental origins of this “cancer cluster,” as it’s called, but in too many cases we simply don’t know enough about the disease to reach any definitive conclusions.

“It’s this lack of knowledge – and heartbreaking stories like that of Alexa Brown – that persuaded us in Congress to pass the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act last year.

“That bill – which was named after former Ohio Representative, Deborah Pryce’s nine-year old daughter, who died of cancer – established a national patient registry for pediatric cancer patients at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also authorized additional funding for pediatric cancer research at the National Institutes of Health.

“After passing that bill, it may have been tempting to just claim victory.

“But today, 14 months later, there’s still much to be done to fully realize the goals of that legislation.

“The Senate version of the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill does not yet include the direct funding authorized by the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act.

“The House bill does.

“That’s why today – on the last day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September – Senators Voinovich and I sent a letter to appropriators urging that the final Labor-HHS package include $10 million specifically for pediatric cancer research.

“Less than four percent of its budget is on pediatric cancer. An extra $10 million would boost that percentage, would help our effort to get to the bottom of this deadly problem, and would give hope to those in Clyde, Ohio, in Northwest Ohio, across my state and across this great country who have seen cancer’s destruction firsthand.

“I had a chance to meet with Alexa’s family just a few days after their daughter passed away. You can imagine it was an emotional time for them and for their neighbors and for their friends at church and for their friends throughout Clyde and that part of the state. But even in their state of mourning, Alexa’s mom and dad stressed the importance of other families not having to go through the same ordeal. I think our colleagues couldn’t agree more.

Thank you, Mr. President, I yield the floor.”

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