WELLS YOUTH TESTIFIES FOR COLLINS COMMITTEE ON DIABETES RESEARCH

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sixteen-year-old Wells High School student Katie Halasz testified today before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). Katie, who suffers from juvenile diabetes, told Senator Collins'' committee about the importance of increased federal funding to find a cure for the disease, and thanked the senator for her efforts to date.

During the hearing, "Juvenile Diabetes: Examining the Personal Toll on Families, Financial Costs to the Health System, and Research and Progress Toward a Cure."Katie, along with other children suffering from juvenile diabetes and actress Mary Tyler Moore, urged the committee to continue its efforts to promote funding for diabetes research.

"The burden of this disease is particularly heavy for children and young adults with Type 1, or juvenile diabetes," said Collins. "I knew it was important to fight against juvenile diabetes when I met a young boy who suffers from this lifetime disease. He told me that he would give anything in the world to have even one day off from his disease so he could live like most other children do."

Earlier this year, Collins introduced bipartisan legislation-the Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplantation Act of 2003 (S. 518)-that would advance the significant research that holds the promise of a cure for diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most significant cost items in most federal health programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and S-CHIP.

"Federal support has been vital to the expansion of diabetes programs and services and to dramatic advances in areas such as islet transplantation, which holds great promise in finding a cure for diabetes," said Collins. "It's imperative that we fund research to find a cure for diabetes, which imposes a heavy personal toll on families."

A study released by the American Diabetes Association earlier this year estimates that diabetes cost the nation $132 billion last year, and that health spending for people with diabetes is almost double what it would be if they did not have the disease. In Maine, it's estimated that between 65,000 and 70,000 people are living with diabetes. Diabetes is a devastating, life-long condition that affects people of every age, race and nationality. It is the leading cause of kidney failure, blindness in adults, and amputations not related to injury.

Collins is the founder and co-chair of the Senate Diabetes Caucus and serves as one of the co-chairs of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's 2003 Children's Congress.