Recognizing American Kidney Fund's 50th Anniversary

Floor Speech

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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the American Kidney Fund (AKF) for its outstanding leadership in the fight against kidney disease. AKF is located in Rockville, in Maryland's 8th District, and I am proud to be AKF's Representative in Congress. This year marks the organization's 50th anniversary and I invite my colleagues to join me in recognizing AKF's five decades of work.

AKF was founded in 1971 by a group of people who came together to help pay for a neighbor's lifesaving dialysis treatment, and in the 50 years since, AKF has become a well-known and widely-respected charitable organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of people affected by kidney disease. AKF is the nation's leading independent nonprofit advocating on behalf of the 37 million Americans with kidney disease. AKF's vision is a world without kidney disease-- but until then, AKF will do everything in its power to ensure that every kidney patient has access to health care, and that every person at risk for kidney disease has the knowledge and resources to help prevent it.

AKF notes that it touches more lives than any other kidney organization, with programs of prevention, early detection, and direct financial assistance that enable the nation's low-income dialysis and transplant patients to access lifesaving medical care, disease management support, clinical research, innovation and advocacy resources. The American Kidney Fund plays a leading role in educating and informing the American people about kidney disease, raising public awareness about the fact that many cases of kidney disease are preventable, and spreading the message that when it is detected early, kidney disease can often be managed and its progression slowed.

Recognizing that advanced kidney disease disproportionately affects minority populations, AKF and its 16,000 Ambassadors have been longtime advocates for these patients and their communities. One area of focus for the organization has been to educate the public about the importance of increasing the participation of minority populations in clinical trials, which are critical to developing better treatments for conditions like kidney disease. Minority populations have historically been underrepresented in these trials, and AKF is dedicated to changing that.

AKF also assists low-income dialysis patients and people who have recently received a kidney transplant, providing financial assistance through Safety Net Grants, Disaster Relief Grants, Health Insurance Premium Program Grants and Coronavirus Emergency Grants. AKF has worked to address longstanding health disparities in the United States and advance health equity so that all of us are as healthy as possible.

Madam Speaker, on the occasion of AKF's 50th anniversary, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the American Kidney Fund's unsurpassed leadership in the fight to end kidney disease.

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