WASHINGTON Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today joined Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) and others in introducing the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006, to increase funding for childhood cancer research and provide services to patients and families affected by the disease.Reed stated, I am pleased to join Senator Coleman in sponsoring this legislation that will encourage and expand support for pediatric cancer research and help families deal with this devastating disease. Childhood cancer impacts thousands of children and their families each year. While we have made great steps in treating cancer, there is still much more to be done. This legislation will help to provide resources to hopefully one day find a cure.Reed and Coleman were joined by cosponsors of the legislation, representatives from Cure Search National Childhood Cancer Foundation and the National Hockey League Foundations Hockey Fights Cancer program, and families and children who have faced childhood cancer.Reed welcomed the family of Ben Haight of Warwick, Rhode Island, who sadly passed away from an aggressive form of childhood cancer in 2003. Bens mother, Nancy Haight, stated, Ben was determined that cancer would not control his life, that he would not be defined by it. He battled so courageously and wanted so much to win that fight. He asked me a day before his death if we could get some stronger medicine. It broke my heart to know that there was no more medicine to try. Ben fought so hard, we always felt that if he just had something that could give him that additional boost, he could have survived. It means so much to us that Bens story, as well as those of other children still battling this disease, has touched our Senator Reed and his staff and inspired them to sponsor the Conquer Childhood Cancer act. We are so proud that part of Bens legacy is the introduction of this bill, the passage of which will mean saving the lives of many of his friends and so many more children. To see something good come out of what was so devastating to us helps to make our pain easier to bear. Having a part in the realization of this legislation, the hope for a cure is, to me, one of the most important things I could accomplish. Reed stated, The tragic story of Ben Haight highlights the importance of this legislation. It is my hope that one day Bens story, and thousands of other children like him, will be one of survival.