Press Releases

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03) secured unanimous passage in the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the Creating Hope Reauthorization Act, her bipartisan legislation to reauthorize a critical program that drives development of new treatments for children with rare pediatric diseases.

“No family should ever have to wonder whether their child can access the treatments they need while fighting a rare disease like cancer,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “The Creating Hope Reauthorization Act is a commonsense, bipartisan solution to keep lifesaving therapies available and speed the development of even better ones. I’m committed to getting this across the finish line with my colleagues in the House and Senate.”

Treatment options for children are extremely limited, despite them making up as much as half of the patients living with rare diseases. Children are currently receiving the same treatments as adults, leaving them with life-altering complications even after their disease is cured. The Creating Hope Reauthorization Act addresses this head on by reauthorizing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) cost-neutral priority review voucher (PRV) program, which incentivizes the development of treatments for rare pediatric diseases. Since 2011, 53 PRVs have been awarded for 39 different rare pediatric diseases.

Trahan’s bill was advanced with unanimous support today in the Energy and Commerce Committee as part of a larger health care package titled the Give Kids a Chance Act. It now moves to the House floor for consideration by the full House of Representatives.

Since joining the Energy and Commerce Committee in 2021, Trahan has spearheaded multiple bipartisan initiatives to improve pediatric health care. Last year, she secured House passage of her bipartisan Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act, which helps families of children with complex medical conditions access out-of-state care. She also authored the bipartisan Bolstering Research and Innovation Now (BRAIN) Act, aimed at strengthening research and treatment development for pediatric brain tumors, and the bipartisan Youth Poisoning Protection Act, which passed the House and would ban the consumer sale of lethal concentrations of sodium nitrite.

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