; Whereas people with rare diseases experience challenges that include— (1) difficulty in obtaining accurate diagnoses; (2) limited treatment options; and (3) difficulty finding physicians or treatment centers with expertise in the rare diseases; Whereas the rare disease community gained important new tools during the 114th Congress with the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act ( Public Law 114–255 ), which— (1) streamlines the review by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs of genetically targeted therapies; (2) incentivizes the development of rare pediatric disease therapies; (3) strengthens pediatric medical research; and (4) adds billions of dollars of funding for the National Institutes of Health; Whereas both the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health have established special offices to advocate for rare disease research and treatments; Whereas the National Organization for Rare Disorders (referred to in this preamble as NORD ), a nonprofit organization established in 1983 to provide services to, and advocate on behalf of, patients with rare diseases, remains a critical public voice for people with rare diseases; Whereas 2017 marks the 34th anniversary of the enactment of the Orphan Drug Act ( Public Law 97–414 ; 96 Stat. 2049) and the establishment of NORD; Whereas NORD sponsors Rare Disease Day in the United States and partners with many other major rare disease organizations to increase public awareness of rare diseases; Whereas Rare Disease Day is observed each year on the last day of February; Whereas Rare Disease Day is a global event, first observed in the United States on February 28, 2009, and was observed in more than 85 countries in 2016; and Whereas Rare Disease Day is expected to be observed globally for years to come, providing hope and information for rare disease patients around the world: Now, therefore, be it