U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada became the newest co-chair of the Congressional Cystic Fibrosis Caucus, after being appointed to the bipartisan, bicameral caucus in 2012. Along with his fellow co-chairs, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Amodei will continue to champion awareness of cystic fibrosis, a rare disease that affects more than 30,000 people in the United States.

“I was in high school when my cousin, Dawn Longero, passed away from cystic fibrosis. Being just 15 years old at the time, I had never experienced death before. Dawn was only 9 years old when the disease claimed her life, and her passing was a traumatic experience for my entire family,” Rep. Amodei said. “When I was first elected to Congress, I made the decision early on to join the Cystic Fibrosis Caucus on Dawn's behalf, because after my experience, I wanted to do everything possible to help improve the lives of the 30,000 people living with CF across our country.

“Since joining, I've been incredibly fortunate to work alongside several of my colleagues who share similar experiences and a passion for raising awareness to end this cruel disease, which is why it's such an honor to have recently been selected to serve as a co-chair of the caucus. I want to extend my sincerest thanks to my fellow co-chair, Rep. Jim McGovern, for his leadership on the caucus. Rep. McGovern has gone above and beyond to advance solutions supporting the critical research that has brought us closer to effective treatments and one day, a cure.” 

To date, the Congressional Cystic Fibrosis Caucus has more than 130 bipartisan members who work together to support the search for better treatments and ultimately a cure for cystic fibrosis to enable people with CF to live full and healthy lives. 

Rep. Amodei was formally asked to serve as co-chair by Nevada advocate Dan Hamer, who lives in Douglas County, Nev. Two weeks after his youngest daughter, Elsie, was born, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Hamer, whose daughter is now 11 years old, is a member of the 2019 CF Foundation National Leadership Council.

Do you want to ask your member to join? Send them a letter today informing them about the caucus and ask them to join.