WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Former “Grey’s Anatomy” star Eric Dane is advocating for a “bold” plan to accelerate ALS research after his diagnosis earlier this year.

Dane, 52, met with U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California in Washington D.C. on Tuesday as a partner with nonprofit “I AM ALS.” In the meeting, he pitched the “Push for Progress” plan where the organization is rallying to secure $1 billion in funding for ALS research over the next three years. 

“I’m gonna ring every bell. I have two daughters at home. I want to see them, you know, graduate college, get married, maybe have grandkids. I want to be there for all that,” Dane said in a video posted to Swalwell’s TikTok. “I’m gonna fight till the last breath on this one.”

Dane is married to Rebecca Gayheart and they have two children — 15-year-old Billie Beatrice and 13-year-old Georgia Geraldine. 

His speech was slightly slurred, which is a common symptom of ALS.

Swalwell said he was honored to meet with Dane and discuss how to continue fighting ALS. 

“From investing in innovative treatments to ensuring access to quality care, we must do more to support patients, families and researchers,” Swalwell wrote in the video caption.

No bill about ALS has yet been introduced, but a person in the video said they were looking forward to doing it “soon” and are expecting “overwhelming bipartisan support.”

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurological disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. According to the National Institutes of Health, the disease causes motor neurons to deteriorate, leading to muscle weakness and eventual paralysis.

There is currently no cure for ALS, though some treatments may slow progression and improve quality of life.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that people with ALS typically live three to five years after symptoms develop, with younger patients generally living slightly longer.

“ALS is the last thing they want to diagnose anybody with. It so often takes all this time for these people to be diagnosed, but then that precludes them from being part of these clinical trials,” Dane said in the video. 

The “Euphoria” actor previously said he sought neurologists and hand specialists for nine months before getting a diagnosis on a Good Morning America segment.

Tuesday’s meeting comes nearly six months after he announced his diagnosis. He now says his “right side has completely stopped working,” and believes it’s only a matter of time before his symptoms worsen. 

“It’s sobering,” he said in an interview with GMA.