Larson Announces Berlin Resident Kara Satalino as His Guest for President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) announced Berlin resident Kara Satalino as his guest for President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress on Tuesday.
Kara Satalino is a mother of 4 and an active member of the Connecticut Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Her 9-year-old daughter Cecelia was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), a progressive genetic condition that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs, and has benefitted from medical research at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) that President Trump, Elon Musk and ‘DOGE’ are attempting to cut.
“I am glad to bring Kara as my guest to this year’s Joint Address to Congress,” said Larson. “Kara and her family have been tireless advocates, fighting for Cecelia and the entire cystic fibrosis community. For nearly a decade, they have been fundraising, campaigning for, and participating in medical research that is giving hope and new opportunities to the thousands impacted by this chronic disease. I thought of her family when I learned of Trump-Musk’s shameful attempts to cut funding for the FDA and NIH. Trump and Musk will not lose a minute of sleep over the damage they are attempting, but it would have devastating consequences for Americans like Kara and her family. We will continue to stand up to these reckless cuts and ensure the voices of millions of Americans who rely on these programs for their health care are heard.”
“I am honored to be invited as Congressman Larson's guest for the 2025 Presidential Address. My daughter was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a rare genetic disease, at 12 days old in 2015,” said Kara Satalino. “Cecelia sits through many breathing treatments and chest therapies each day and takes many medications that, without the NIH and FDA’s hard work, research, and time, she would not have access to. Cecelia was lucky to participate in a medical trial that helped her and thousands of other people living with CF get access to a life altering medication earlier in life. 10% of the CF population is still waiting for a medication to change their lives and the research and development is in the works, but if funding for the NIH and FDA is cut, the promise of a life without CF complications may not be on the table for my daughter and the rest of our community.”
Cecelia was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at 12 days old, and the Satalino Family has continued to advocate for treatment and funding to research a cure since her diagnosis. Her brothers have engaged at the federal level during Cystic Fibrosis Foundation teen advocacy days. If funding for the NIH is cut, future research on medications, treatments, and cures will be hindered for patients like Cecelia.
Thanks to research conducted at or funded by the NIH, the life expectancy of someone born with cystic fibrosis today is multiple decades longer than it was 30 years ago. On February 14th, Rep. Larson wrote to the Trump Administration after the NIH unilaterally slashed the reimbursement rate for indirect research costs to 15 percent across the board, cutting $4 billion in federal funding appropriated by Congress from lifesaving medical research and clinical trials, including at the University of Connecticut.