Trahan and Burgess to Co-Chair Multiple Sclerosis Caucus

WASHINGTON — Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., and Michael Burgess, R-Texas, have been chosen to serve as the co-chairs of the Congressional Multiple Sclerosis Caucus, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., continues to serve as the chair of the caucus in the U.S. Senate.

The Congressional MS Caucus is a bipartisan caucus composed of members of the House and Senate who raise awareness about MS on Capitol Hill. 

The National MS Society and MS Activists work with MS Caucus members to seek and advance creative federal policy solutions to the challenges facing people living with and affected by MS. 

“The National MS Society has been close to my heart long before I came to Congress,” Trahan said in a written statement.

“After my dad was diagnosed with MS, he became an active member of the National MS Society and traveled from Lowell to Washington to tell his story to lawmakers,” she continued.

“Like far too many, he was misdiagnosed for years until the doctors finally determined that he had secondary progressive MS,” Trahan added. “It’s a privilege to now serve as co-chair of the MS Caucus and fight for MS patients like my dad every day. 

“I’m committed to working closely with the National MS Society to invest in research for a cure and to advance meaningful, federal change to support those living with MS,” she said.

For his part, Casey said he remains committed to finding a cure for this devastating disease. 

“We must continue to advance federal policy that expands access to quality health care, including an investment in home care, and break down barriers to accessibility across the nation,” he said. 

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis, and there is currently no cure. 

Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, and it affects women three times more than men. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society estimates there are currently close to 1 million people living with the disease in the United States. 

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