{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tonko.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4037", "Tonko Heralds Key Advance of His Parkinson\u2019s Bill Out of Committee", "2023-12-06", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Paul Tonko", "T000469", "tonko.house.gov", "tonko", "https://tonko.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressman Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) today cheered the advance of bipartisan legislation he championed alongside Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) that would unite the federal government in a mission to cure and prevent Parkinson\u2019s disease.\n\nPreceding the advance of the National Plan to End Parkinson\u2019s Act out of the full Energy and Commerce Committee, Tonko spoke before the committee to highlight the importance of this legislation and thank Rep. Bilirakis, local and national advocates, and his colleague Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton who \u2014 following a diagnosis of Parkinson\u2019s earlier this year that was later re-diagnosed as Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) \u2014 served as a powerful and dedicated advocate for the Parkinson\u2019s community and for the National Plan to End Parkinson\u2019s Act.\n\nTonko\u2019s remarks read in part:\n\n\u201cIn Congress, I have made helping those with neurological disorders one of my top priorities for more than a decade. I first learned about Parkinson\u2019s from a friend who suffered with it. So when the opportunity arose to partner with Congressman Bilirakis on this meaningful effort I jumped right in and made it my personal mission to get this done on behalf of the millions of people living with Parkinson\u2019s.\n\n\u201cI understand that receiving a Parkinson\u2019s diagnosis is truly devastating for individuals and their loved ones. It is incumbent on Congress to ensure Americans know they will be supported during this frightening and life-altering time. Our legislation does just that.\n\n\u201cTo all my colleagues here thank you for your strong support and commitment to the Parkinson\u2019s community. By moving this forward we will make a positive difference, improve lives and even save lives. And for the millions of Americans living with Parkinson\u2019s, as well as their loved ones, I hope this brings much needed hope.\u201d\n\nWatch Tonko\u2019s full remarks before the committee here.\n\nParkinson\u2019s disease is the second most common \u2014 and fastest-growing \u2014 neurological disease globally with nearly 60,000 new cases diagnosed every year.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tonko.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4037"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5258239582180977, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}