Houston Daily

U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), co-chair and founder of the Childhood Cancer Caucus, addressed the House floor in support of his bill, the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids A Chance Act. The legislation merges two initiatives—the original Give Kids A Chance Act and the Creating Hope Reauthorization Act—aimed at encouraging drug development for pediatric rare diseases and closing gaps in research.

The act is named after Mikaela Naylon, a young woman who advocated for its passage during her cancer battle. McCaul recounted meeting Mikaela at a childhood cancer summit, noting her determination to influence policy despite her illness. "She wanted her presence — and her voice — to help shape our policies and change our world for the better," McCaul said.

Mikaela participated in a clinical trial but passed away shortly after attending the summit. "In her final moments on this earth, I reached out to her and told her that her story would not be forgotten and that her legacy would continue to help thousands of other children," McCaul stated.

McCaul founded the Childhood Cancer Caucus sixteen years ago due to what he described as a lack of attention to pediatric cancer treatments. He emphasized that current therapies often focus on adults rather than children. "Put simply, this bill gives kids the same chance to beat cancer that adults already have," he said.

The proposed legislation would authorize the FDA to require companies to study drug combination therapies in children as well as adults. It also reauthorizes the Creating Hope Act, which established a Pediatric Priority Review Voucher Program within the FDA—a program that has led to 63 vouchers for treatments targeting at least 39 rare pediatric diseases since 2012.

McCaul highlighted an example from Texas: "A dear friend of mine — Dr. Allison from MD Anderson in my home state of Texas — was able to use the voucher program to obtain FDA approval for a treatment called CAR-T immunotherapy." He added that Dr. Allison received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this work.

The bill proposes extending the voucher program for another five years. McCaul thanked colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee and recognized childhood cancer survivors present in Congress during his remarks.

He noted broad bipartisan support: "With 313 cosponsors, this bill has the most bipartisan support in Congress." Addressing Mikaela’s family present at the event, he expressed gratitude: "Thank you for sharing Mikaela’s beautiful story with us."

Reflecting on his career, McCaul concluded: "It’s rare in this place that you can pass a bill that will end up saving children's lives. I can think of nothing more important."

McCaul has held his congressional seat through several election cycles, including victories over Theresa Boisseau in 2024 (63.6% of votes), Linda Nuno in 2022 (63.3%), Mike Siegel in both 2020 (52.5%) and 2018 (51.1%), Tawana Walter-Cadien in both 2016 (57.3%) and 2014 (62.2%).