Whereas, vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels, also called angiitis, that causes changes in the walls of blood vessels, including thickening, weakening, narrowing, and scarring and the inflammation from these changes can be acute or chronic and can be so severe that the tissues and organs supplied by the affected vessels do not receive enough blood, which can result in organ and tissue damage and even death; and

Whereas, many types of vasculitis exist and, although rare, vasculitis can affect anyone; some age groups are affected more than others, depending on the type of vasculitis; and while some forms of vasculitis improve on their own, others require treatment to the extent that 100,000 Americans are hospitalized for vasculitis care each year; and

Whereas, diseases resulting from vasculitis include Wegener's Granulomatosis, Behcet's disease, Buerger's disease, Cryglobulinemia, Giant Cell Arterititis, Kawasaki disease, Microscopic Polyangiitis, Polyarteritis nodosa, Polymyalgia rheumatica, and other diseases; and

Whereas, the Vasculitis Foundation, with the help of grass roots support, works to support positive change in the lives of people who live with vasculitis and the foundation's members work in Washington, D.C., to educate Congress about vasculitis and the need to support research funding so that science can better understand the disease and identify advanced treatments and one day find a cure; now, therefore, be it