Each year, nearly 200 Minnesota families hear the words no parent should ever have to hear: "Your child has cancer." For too many, that diagnosis is then followed by a cruel reality, that there is no FDA-approved treatment for their child’s specific disease.

Having represented Minnesota in Congress, serving as vice chair of the House Science Committee, I’ve seen what is possible for our state when public policy fuels, rather than frustrates, innovation and cures. Nowhere is this more urgently needed than in health care, where the right public policy at the right time can mean a happy ending to a scary story.

This is especially true for our hospitals that care for children. We can be proud of the work done at Minnesota’s Children’s Hospital and the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center. They ar

See Full Page