1-1     By:  Marchant (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief)              H.C.R. No. 8
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2001;
 1-3     April 24, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
 1-4     and Human Services; May 1, 2001, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 1, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, Current federal funding for research on muscular
 1-8     dystrophy is insufficient given the disease's prevalence and
 1-9     severity, and this level of support does little to promote advances
1-10     in research and treatment of the disease; and
1-11           WHEREAS, The term muscular dystrophy encompasses a large
1-12     group of hereditary muscle-destroying disorders that appear in men,
1-13     women, and children of every race and ethnicity, with the most
1-14     common disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, first appearing in
1-15     early childhood or adolescence; and
1-16           WHEREAS, Furthermore, since genetic mutations may be a factor
1-17     in any incidence of muscular dystrophy, anyone could be a carrier,
1-18     and no family is immune from the possibility of the disease
1-19     afflicting one of its members; and
1-20           WHEREAS, While the prognosis for individuals afflicted with a
1-21     muscular dystrophy disorder varies according to patterns of
1-22     inheritance, the age of onset, the initial muscles attacked, and
1-23     the progression of the disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the
1-24     most common fatal childhood genetic disease; and
1-25           WHEREAS, Because muscular dystrophy varies widely from one
1-26     disorder to another, continuing research is important to
1-27     understanding the disease, treating it, and working toward its
1-28     prevention and cure; and
1-29           WHEREAS, Congressional funding for research by the National
1-30     Institutes of Health on Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy does
1-31     not reflect the severity of this disease, the importance of finding
1-32     a cure, or the potential benefits that research in this area could
1-33     have on other similar disorders; and
1-34           WHEREAS, To save lives and improve the quality of life for
1-35     those already afflicted by this disease, it is imperative that the
1-36     federal government take the initiative to increase funding for the
1-37     research of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy; now, therefore,
1-38     be it
1-39           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-40     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
1-41     increase funding for research by the National Institutes of Health
1-42     for the treatment and cure of Duchenne and Becker muscular
1-43     dystrophy; and, be it further
1-44           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
1-45     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
1-46     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
1-47     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
1-48     the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
1-49     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
1-50     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
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