SUPPORTING THE CAROLINE PRYCE WALKER CONQUER CHILDHOOD CANCER ACT OF 2008

Mr. McCaul of Texas- Madam speaker, every now and then, as Members of Congress, we have one of those moments, moments we feel like we can truly make a difference. This in my view is one of those moments. I want to thank Congresswoman Deborah Pryce for her leadership, her perseverance in this issue.

It's been a long, hard fight, but we got here. It's going pass. This is a great day. It's a great day for those who have suffered, it's a great day for those who have been in pain. It's a great day for the victims.

This bill provides a beacon of light, it provides a voice for the innocent who don't have a voice and for the children whose eyes we have looked into who died from this dreaded disease, for the victims of this disease, like my constituents tim and donna culver, who lost their son adam at the age of 4, to caroline who lost her life at the age of 9.

I think of my own daughter, Caroline, and my own five children, and countless other children out there who could be a victim of this dreaded disease. This bill will lead the path toward a cure for cancer.

This is not a Republican or Democratic issue, this is an American issue, it's an issue for the children, and it's a fitting tribute to you, Congresswoman Pryce, and your daughter, Caroline, for all the hard work and the efforts you've put into this.

I've been through the pediatric hospitals, as many of us have, and there's nothing more painful than to look into the eyes of a child who is dying from this disease who is afflicted with this disease, whose parents look at you as a member of congress and say, isn't there something you can do? Can't you stop this?

I watched my best friend in grade school die from cancer. We have all been touched, as Deborah Pryce said, by this disease in some way or another. But this is a real monumental moment, a moment where we truly can make a difference. They often say that the measure of a man's life, or a woman's life, is did I leave this world in a better place than it was before I came in? And i can truly say that with the passage of this bill, that this Congress and this brave Congresswoman through her leadership and her legacy, will leave this world a better.