As a doctor and former member of Congress, I’ve spent my life trying to bridge the worlds of medicine and policy. And I can tell you from experience, both at the bedside and on the House floor, that there are few easy solutions.

When we have proven win-win tools that save lives, we should use them. That’s why I was a supporter of the Pediatric Rare Disease Priority Review Voucher Program in Congress. It’s also why I’m urging my former colleagues to immediately pass the Give Kids a Chance Act as part of the September government funding package.

Recommended Stories

• Conservatives shouldn't celebrate that Sydney Sweeney ad
• Planned Parenthood always puts profits first
• School choice didn't close Arizona schools

This program has previously received overwhelming support because it is a no-cost reform that delivers lifesaving treatments to children suffering from the rarest, most devastating diseases. These are children with conditions such as Rett Syndrome, pediatric neuroblastoma, and other diseases so rare they often go overlooked in our healthcare system. That’s not because cures are impossible, but because the incentives to find them have been too weak.

Unlike so much government spending, this program already has a proven track record of success. Since the PRV program’s inception, 53 vouchers have been awarded, covering 39 different pediatric rare diseases. 36 of these had no previous FDA-approved treatment. Nearly three-quarters of these therapies were “first in disease,” meaning they were the first time hope was delivered to families facing what has always been viewed as impossible battles. The Give Kids a Chance Act simply ensures more of that innovation can reach more children, faster.

However, despite this incredible impact, the program was allowed to expire last year amid government funding politics. As each day passes without a solution, greater investments in cures are being delayed. Now, as Congress once again negotiates a funding deal, we have our best chance to reauthorize the program.

Fortunately, the current proposal will make the program more effective by removing rules that excluded too many promising therapies. If a company is already developing a drug for an adult version of a disease, they’re ineligible for the voucher — even if that same drug could help save a child’s life. This bureaucratic oversight punishes innovation and discourages companies from investing in pediatric research. The Give Kids a Chance Act fixes that.

This is a pro-life, pro-free market solution that costs taxpayers nothing. The PRV program doesn’t hand out government checks or grow federal bureaucracy. It cuts through red tape and offers free-market incentives to encourage drug developers to go the extra mile for children who are otherwise forgotten by the system. And it works. Just ask the parents of children who beat a rare cancer or can now live with a genetic disorder because of a treatment accelerated through a PRV.

The last time the PRV program was reauthorized, it was under the leadership of President Donald Trump, who has always understood the importance of cutting through red tape and extending the reach of medical innovation. He never hesitates to take decisive action when lives are on the line. Congress must follow that example again.

This is bigger than politics. It’s the lives of our children. And it’s urgent. Time is not on the side of these families. With over 10,000 known rare diseases and only 5% having any approved treatment, most parents are told not only that their child is sick, but that no one is even working on a cure. That’s unacceptable in the most advanced medical system in the world.

WISE CAUTION FROM THE WHITE HOUSE ON IVF

The Give Kids a Chance Act is already supported by more than half the House. It passed unanimously in the last Congress. It’s ready to go. All that’s needed is the political will to ensure it makes it into the final September funding package.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle: don’t let this moment pass. Let’s give researchers the tools they need. Let’s give families the hope they deserve. And most importantly, let’s give kids a fighting chance.

Michael Burgess is a physician and a former member of Congress from Texas.