In July of 2011, Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) led a bipartisan team of Senators and Representatives in a press conference announcing the introduction of bills in both chambers of Congress that would strengthen America’s fight against pulmonary fibrosis, which claims the lives of 40,000 Americans each year. The Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act of 2011 is designed to enhance research, prevention, and awareness activities around the disease, creating a national registry, encouraging federal research at the National Institutes of Health, and creating a national action plan. Joining Senator Coons at the press conference was Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and former Congressman Mike Castle (R-Del.).