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It's been less than three months since Chad Carr, the 5-year-old grandson of former University of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr, died following a 15-month battle with an inoperable brain tumor.

But his legacy lives on.

Chad's passing in November came at the hands of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, an extremely rare type of pediatric brain cancer.

The fact that there's currently no cure was noted on Friday as U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell and Fred Upton traveled to southeast Michigan to discuss the bipartisan21st Century Cures Act, a multibillion-dollar piece of legislation pending in Congress.

The two representatives, who hail from different political parties, met with patient groups, families, doctors and researchers to discuss the legislation introduced by Upton and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in hopes of speeding up the discovery, development and delivery of life-saving drugs and devices for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes.

The legislation includes billions of dollars worth of new research funding for the National Institutes of Health and would overhaul the process the Food and Drug Administration uses to assess and approve new medicines.

Among those at Friday's roundtable discussion at the University of Michigan-Dearborn was Tammi Carr, Chad's mother.

Following the roundtable, the representatives traveled to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for a discussion with leading doctors and researchers to learn how their work would be impacted by the 21st Century Cures Act. University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel joined in the discussion.

"It was great to host Chairman Upton in Southeast Michigan to raise the drumbeat about 21st Century Cures," Dingell said in a statement afterward.

"This truly bipartisan legislation transcends political parties and will benefit every family in Michigan and across the country," she said. "We heard heartbreaking stories from patients and family members of loved ones who passed away and how 21st Century Cures gives them hope for the future."

Dingell said those personal stories bring an even greater sense of urgency to the need to develop the next generation of medical cures. She vows to continue working with Upton to get the legislation passed and signed into law.

"Every day that we wait is another day that cures don't get to the patients who need them," Dingell said.

The legislation passed the House floor 344-77 last July, with mostly Republicans against it. It's now being considered by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

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