Assemblyman Jose Rivera went to Washington, D.C. this week to attend the national ALS Advocacy Day with his daughter Diane Rivera-Riportella, who was recently diagnosed with the condition. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, affects 30,000 Americans. It damages the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and is fatal, on average, in two to five years after diagnosis.

Rivera recently introduced a resolution to the Assembly urging Governor David Paterson to proclaim Tuesday, July 15, ALS Awareness Day in New York State. The ALS Association has asked Congress to support new proposals, which include legislation that would authorize the creation of a single nationwide ALS registry, funding for ALS specific programs at the Department of Defense (DOD), and the backing of initiatives that would help speed up the development of new treatments for ALS.

“There is no time to waste when it comes to ALS,” Rivera said in a statement. “I will be urging my colleagues at the City, State, and Federal level to approve our request for additional funding and changes in law to increase potential life-saving therapies.”