Brown with JDRF Kids

(Avery Addington, age 7, pictured second to right)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this week met with Avery Addington, a Springboro child living with type 1 diabetes, and her family as a part of the JDRF Children’s Congress, a biennial opportunity for selected children to gather in Washington to meet with Members of Congress. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that between 2001 and 2009 there was a 23 percent increase in type 1diabetes among American youth. The children discussed how their lives are impacted by diabetes, the innovations in diabetes care that have benefitted them, and the importance of continuing strong funding of the Special Diabetes program so that better treatment and progress toward a cure are found. 

“We are making good headway in the fight against diabetes, and I will continue to support research towards an eventual cure,” said Brown. “I thank Avery and her family for sharing their story and helping to educate us all about diabetes, particularly type 1 diabetes which often affects children.”  

Brown has long been a strong advocate for dedicating the necessary resources to combat diabetes. He has worked to ensure that the Special Diabetes Program is properly funded.  This program was enacted by Congress in response to alarming increases in the incidence of diabetes in America, and is administered by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), involving multiple NIH institutes and the CDC.  The research and clinical trials coming from this program are creating rapid advances in our understanding of diabetes and its treatment.  Last May, when continued funding was uncertain. Brown joined his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Senate’s Majority and Minority leaders asking for continued support of the Special Diabetes Program. He also co-sponsored S. 452, the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act, to help American seniors who are at risk for developing diabetes. This bill would allow for a proven program – the clinically-tested National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) – to be reimbursed in the Medicare system.

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