Senate Appropriations Committee Hosts Breakthrough T1D Children’s Congress
Approximately 170 Children’s Congress delegates from all 50 states and five countries attended the hearing.
Click HERE to watch the hearing.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, hosted a hearing titled, “A Future Without Type 1 Diabetes: Accelerating Breakthroughs and Creating Hope.”
The hearing was held in conjunction with Breakthrough T1D Children’s Congress, a biennial event to raise awareness about Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Approximately 170 Children’s Congress delegates from all 50 states and five countries attended the hearing.
The hearing comes the same week as Senators Collins and Shaheen, co-chairs of the U.S. Senate Diabetes Caucus, introduced the Special Diabetes Program Reauthorization Act of 2025 to reauthorize funding for this important program. The bipartisan bill would reauthorize funding for the Special Diabetes Program – comprised of the Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians – which has delivered meaningful resources and research breakthroughs for those with Type 1 diabetes and also for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Without an extension, both program components are at risk of expiring at the end of the fiscal year. The reauthorization would fund both components at $160 million each per year through 2027.
“The Delegates at today’s Breakthrough TID Children’s Congress were truly inspiring, traveling to D.C. to share their stories and advocate for life-changing research to prevent, treat, and ultimately cure Type 1 diabetes. It is an honor to have hosted today’s hearing with Senators Murray and Shaheen,” said Senator Collins. “I was proud to help secure the first funding increase for the Special Diabetes Program in twenty years in the final fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill, but the current extension expires in September. Senator Shaheen and I introduced legislation to reauthorize this critical program, and together, I am confident that we will continue the progress made and achieve that goal.”
“I’m deeply thankful to all the witnesses who shared their stories and the advocates who traveled to Washington today. Their tireless advocacy for everyone living with Type 1 diabetes is truly inspiring,” said Senator Shaheen. “Now is the time to deepen our commitment to supporting people living with diabetes, and that means increasing and strengthening federal investments in research through the Special Diabetes Program and finally passing the comprehensive legislation Senator Collins and I co-author to make insulin affordable for every American.”
“I want to thank Senators Collins and Shaheen for their tremendous leadership in advancing type 1 diabetes research and elevating the voices of our Children’s Congress delegates. The Special Diabetes Program has helped put transformative therapies into the hands of people with type 1 diabetes. This program has fundamentally changed what it means to live with T1D," said Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D., CEO of Breakthrough T1D. “Now, cures for type 1 diabetes are within reach due to the groundbreaking clinical trials in cell therapies funded by the Special Diabetes Program. To maintain this life-changing progress toward type 1 diabetes cures, renewing the Special Diabetes Program is critical."
Witnesses for the hearing included:
Ruby Whitmore, Children’s Congress Delegate, Old Town, ME
Rachel White, Children’s Congress Delegate, North Hampton, NH
Katie Bone, USA Climbing Speed National Champion, Bernalillo, NM
Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P., Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD
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