Whereas sickle cell disease (referred to in this preamble as SCD ) is defined as a group of inherited red blood cell disorders that is a genetic condition present at birth and is a major health problem in the United States and worldwide; Whereas the 2023 theme of World Sickle Cell Awareness Day, Shine the Light on Sickle Cell is an immediate call to action to improve the health and quality of life for individuals living with SCD and their families; Whereas, in 1972, Dr. Charles Whitten established the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America to improve research, education, and health care for sickle cell patients, which is now headquartered in Hanover, Maryland; Whereas, in 1972, Congress passed the National Sickle Cell Disease Control Act which, for the first time, provided authority to establish education, information, screening, testing, counseling, research, and treatment programs for sickle cell disease; Whereas SCD is a gene mutation that causes a single misspelling in the DNA instructions for hemoglobin, a protein that aids in carrying oxygen in the blood, results in chronic complications related to anemia, stroke, infections, organ failure, tissue damage, intense periods of pain referred to as vaso-occulsive crises, and even premature death in persons living with the disease; Whereas sickle cell trait (SCT) occurs when a person inherits one copy of the sickle cell gene from one of his or her parents, and in the United States an estimated 3,000,000 individuals have SCT with many unaware of their status; if both parents have SCT, there is a 25-percent (or 1 in 4) chance that any child of theirs will have SCD; Whereas the prevalence of SCD in the United States affects approximately 100,000 individuals, 1 in every 365 African-American births, and 1 in every 16,300 Hispanic-American births, with roughly 1 in 13 African-American babies born with sickle cell trait; Whereas the global imprint of SCD affects millions of people throughout the world