President Donald Trump is considering a bill that was introduced by the late Congressman Gerry Connolly, who died last year.
It's called the Gerald E. Connolly Esophageal Cancer Awareness Act, and it directs the Government Accountability Office to report on esophageal cancer care, early screening and healthcare spending for federal employees. The House passed the bill last summer, and the Senate passed it on the one-year anniversary of his death. Congressman James Walkinshaw was Connolly's Chief of Staff, and he’s now representing the 11th Congressional District.
"It was nice to have something to celebrate and to help remember him by. It was his last legislative act. You know, he was ranked the most effective legislator in the House and passed dozens and dozens of pieces of legislation," Walkinshaw says. "This is the final one that he introduced before he passed away. So, you know, really glad to see it moving."
"I really think there needs to be a large-scale project to focus on the molecular origins and do studies that go beyond just DNA and RNA analysis," says Dr. Tim Cannon, an oncology specialist who treated Connolly. "Because those have not been very revealing for esophageal cancers."
Walkinshaw says the bill is likely to be signed in a batch of routine, noncontroversial pieces of legislation. Perhaps an ironic capstone for the late congressman, who was anything but routine and noncontroversial.
