When children’s hospitals like New Orleans’ Manning Family Children’s Hospital plead for the chance to treat and cure more young patients, lawmakers should pay attention, especially when the solution doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime.

The harsh reality of medical innovation is that research dollars tend to flow to areas with a higher patient volume. Sadly, this situation often leaves children with rare diseases behind. However, a bipartisan bill, the Give Kids a Chance Act, offers real hope. It would remove barriers that currently discourage investment in pediatric research, opening the door to life-saving therapies for thousands of children.

Thanks to Louisiana’s powerful congressional delegation, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Representative Clay Higgins, this bill has a good chance of becoming law by year’s end.

The legislation addresses a significant problem in pediatric research. Today, drug companies have little financial incentive to conduct clinical trials for ultra-rare diseases, as each condition affects a small number of patients. The Give Kids a Chance Act would address that challenge by reinstating the FDA’s priority review voucher (PRV) program, which rewards companies that successfully develop treatments for rare pediatric conditions.

From 2007 to the end of 2024, the PRV program was linked to dozens of new treatments for rare diseases, including therapies for spinal muscular atrophy and rare childhood cancers.

The Give Kids a Chance Act will revive this successful program, which has a proven track record. For families in Louisiana and across America, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Only 5% of the 10,000 known rare diseases have an FDA-approved treatment, and approximately 50% of those affected are children. Parents facing diagnoses like Batten disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or pediatric cancer often are told that nothing more can be done, not because a cure is impossible, but because the incentives to develop one simply don’t exist. This bill will provide the necessary incentives, giving families something far too rare: hope.

And for Louisiana, it’s personal. The bill would supercharge efforts at institutions like LSU Health Sciences Center to expand research and access. I can vouch for the excellent staff and groundbreaking research being done on this outstanding medical campus, as I had the pleasure of serving as Development Director of the LSU Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center.

With bipartisan support and leadership from Speaker Johnson and Leader Scalise, Louisiana can play a leading role in changing the status quo and providing much-needed hope for sick children and their families.

The bill has won praise from medical researchers, patient advocates, and policy experts across the political spectrum. Unlike much of what is debated on Capitol Hill, this is not a partisan issue; it is a moral one. When we can invest in children’s health without spending taxpayer dollars, it should be an easy “Yes” vote for every member of Congress.

Yet, the clock is ticking. Congress must pass a year-end spending package, and the Give Kids a Chance Act deserves a place in it. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has unanimously passed it. The only remaining hurdle is to make sure it doesn’t get lost in the end-of-year legislative shuffle.

It is excruciatingly difficult to inform parents that their child has an incurable disease. It is made even worse by knowing a treatment might exist if only the right incentives were in place.

The Give Kids a Chance Act won’t solve every problem in pediatric medicine; however, it is a bold, no-cost step forward. It empowers researchers, rewards innovation, and gives families a reason to believe in a better tomorrow.

Congress must act now, and with Louisiana’s leadership, it can.

Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America’s Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-9 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance, and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and at Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com.