IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 30
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding scleroderma. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2003
Mr. GUTIERREZ (for himself, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. NORTON, 
Mr. KILDEE, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. WYNN, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. 
LYNCH, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. LEE, 
Mr. PALLONE, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. OWENS, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. 
RUSH, Mr. MCHUGH, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. REYES, Mr. 
SKELTON, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. DAVIS 
of Illinois, Mr. COSTELLO, and Mr. PRICE of North Carolina) submitted 
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding scleroderma.
Whereas scleroderma is a debilitating and potentially fatal 
autoimmune disease with a broad range of symptoms 
which may be either localized or systemic; 
Whereas scleroderma may attack vital internal organs, in-
cluding the heart, esophagus, lungs, and kidneys, and 
may do so without causing any external symptoms; 
Whereas more than 300,000 people in the United States suf-
fer from scleroderma;
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Whereas the symptoms of scleroderma include hardening and 
thickening of the skin, swelling, disfigurement of the 
hands, spasms of blood vessels causing severe discomfort 
in the fingers and toes, weight loss, joint pain, difficulty 
swallowing, extreme fatigue, and ulcerations on the fin-
gertips which are slow to heal; 
Whereas people with advanced scleroderma may be unable to 
perform even the simplest tasks; 
Whereas 80 percent of the people suffering from scleroderma 
are women between the ages of 25 and 55; 
Whereas scleroderma is the 5th leading cause of death among 
all autoimmune diseases for women who are 65 years old 
or younger; 
Whereas the wide range of symptoms and localized and sys-
temic variations of scleroderma make it difficult to diag-
nose; 
Whereas the average diagnosis of scleroderma is made 5 
years after the onset of symptoms; 
Whereas the cause of scleroderma is still unknown and there 
is no known cure; and 
Whereas the estimated annual direct and indirect costs of 
scleroderma in the United States are $1,500,000,000: 
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) private organizations and health care pro-
viders should be recognized for their efforts to pro-
mote awareness of and research on scleroderma;
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(2) the people of the United States, including 
the medical community, should make themselves 
aware of the symptoms of scleroderma and con-
tribute to the fight against scleroderma; 
(3) the Federal Government has a responsibility 
to promote awareness regarding scleroderma, to ade-
quately 
fund 
research 
projects 
regarding 
scleroderma, and to continue to consider ways to im-
prove the quality of health care services provided for 
scleroderma patients, including making prescription 
medication more affordable; 
(4) the National Institutes of Health should 
continue to play a leadership role in the fight 
against scleroderma by—
(A) working more closely with private or-
ganizations and researchers to find a cure for 
scleroderma; 
(B) funding research projects regarding 
scleroderma conducted by private organizations 
and researchers; 
(C) holding a scleroderma symposium 
which would bring together distinguished sci-
entists and clinicians from across the United 
States to determine the most important prior-
ities in scleroderma research;
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(D) supporting the formation of small 
workgroups composed of experts from diverse 
but 
related 
scientific 
fields 
to 
study 
scleroderma; 
(E) conducting more genetic, environ-
mental, 
and 
clinical 
research 
regarding 
scleroderma; 
(F) training more basic and clinical sci-
entists to carry out such research; and 
(G) providing for better dissemination of 
the information learned from such research; 
and 
(5) the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion should give priority consideration to the estab-
lishment of a national epidemiological study to bet-
ter track the incidence of scleroderma and to gather 
information about the disease that could lead to a 
cure.
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