The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2019 today, titled the “Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act.” The bill is named in memory of Gabriella Miller, a young girl who left a legacy of a tenacious fight for childhood cancer awareness in spite of her inoperable brain tumor. From the official summary of the bill:

Specifically, the bill terminates funding from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund for political party conventions (the Democratic and Republican Party National Conventions received $36.5 million in taxpayer subsidies in 2012).  Over the next ten years this will save $126 million. This $126 million is then authorized to be spent on pediatric medical research activities through the Common Fund at NIH.  The Common Fund supports transformative research that requires the coordination and collaboration of two or more research institutes and centers at NIH.   To ensure that funding reaches the intended target (pediatric research), the bill directs that the spending be drawn from a new Pediatric Research Initiative Fund. Because the NIH is a discretionary program and funded through the annual appropriations process, the Pediatric Research Initiative Fund provides an easy mechanism whereby the public can hold Congress and the Administration accountable to ensuring that each year pediatric research receives the funds that are being authorized under this bill. In addition, the Pediatric Research Initiative Fund will be able to receive additional funding as other bills are considered to reprioritize other lower-priority programs to pediatric research.

A CNN article reports that the bill will not be considered by the Senate. To help, write or call your Senator to express support for the legislation. Congratulations to the organizations that worked hard on the Kids First Research Act!