November 11, 2001

The Honorable Senator Phil Gramm
2323 Bryan Street
Suite 2150
Dallas, Texas 75201
214-767-3000 phone
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The Honorable Representative Pete Sessions
10675 East Northwest Highway
Suite 1685
Dallas, Texas 75238-4844
214-349-9996 phone
800-967-6554 toll free
214-349-0738 fax


An open letter to my United States Senator, The Honorable Phil Gramm and my
United States Representative, The Honorable Pete Sessions.

Dear Gentleman,

As a constituent from the Fifth District and of the Great State of Texas I
am writing to you today to admonish each of you for your separate votes
against the Fiscal Year 2002 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education
Appropriations bill.  I was very discouraged to see that you were willing to
throw out the entire Labor-HHS bill that could potentially save billions and
billions of dollars every year, but more importantly millions of lives could
be changed from the research funded through this bill.

As you are well aware from our previous communications I am a young onset
Parkinson disease patient.  Through my education concerning this
progressive, degenerative and incurable neurological condition I discovered
the following facts.  Medical research funding has consistently proven to be
one of our most cost-effective investments, where every $1 of research is
estimated to result in over $13 in long-term savings for things like direct
care medical expenses, lost productivity and the resulting impact on our
entire economy.  And according to testimony before the Senate Committee on
Aging, Parkinson's disease alone is estimated to cost the United States an
estimated $25 billion per year.  These costs are spread among the afflicted
families, health and disability benefit providers, SSI, as SDI, Medicare and
Medicaid.  But again more importantly is how the lives of an estimated
65,000 newly diagnosed Parkinson's patients every year could be changed, as
well as their families and caregivers too.  As I have mentioned to you
before as Parkinson's disease progresses, substantial disability including
the inability to maintain balance, walk, speak or move will require assisted
living and nursing home care.

I was especially disappointed to see each of you vote against the fiscal
Year 2002 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations
bill. I reference a letter I received from President George W. Bush, in
which he states, "We have the technology to find these cures, and I want to
make sure that the resources are available as well.  Only through a greater
understanding of such serious diseases ... will we find the cures that will
bring new hope and health to millions of Americans." And the President
further states, "That is why I have proposed to double the funding for the
National institutes of Health Medical Research on diseases that affect so
many Americans ...".

And Senator Gramm if I may quote from a letter I received from you stating,
"I am convinced that our highest hopes and dreams for the 21st century will
not be realized if we do not restore the prominence that research and
technology once held in the federal budget.  ... Expanding the nation's
commitment to basic research in science and medicine is a critically
important investment in the future, and you may be certain of my commitment
to that end".

And so again, Senator Gramm and Congressman Sessions I voice my concern of
your nay votes against the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill.

So as my Dear friend, J. David, here in Tehuacana would say I've used the
stick before introducing the carrot. But the fact is I need your help, your
influence and your vote now. It is the most important time for the Labor-HHS
Appropriations bill. Since the language differs from the House and Senate
versions there will be a Conference to form these two disparate bills into
one Conference Report.  And now, more than ever, I and the over one million
Americans whom are stricken with Parkinson's, need your support for this
Conference Report on Labor-HHS. So as the Conference Committees debate this
Conference Report I would ask that both of you support the Conference Report
itself and more specifically the following language.  First, "The House
concurs with the Senate with regards to the Senate language on Parkinson's
research as it relates to the Office of Director."  And secondly, that "The
House accept the funding allocations for the NIH, in particular for the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Can I count on your support Senator Gramm? Will you join with the Junior
Senator from Texas, Kay Bailey-Hutchison, who voted for the Labor-HHS
Appropriations bill?

And Representative Sessions will you now join your fellow members of the
delegation from Texas whom voted for Labor-HHS? Will you visit with fellow
House members like Representative Henry Bonilla from the Twenty-Third
District of Texas and concur with the Senate language?

I am making these letters public because I feel it is important that all
constituents be informed of how our elected officials represent us in our
Nations business. And to have each ask the question: are my elected
officials working toward the greater good, or rather, are we defending an
expedient political position?

And now Dear Gentleman I leave you with this final thought. This great
Nation of ours needs to be about the business of funding these exciting
research programs that offer the cure for millions of Americans. Let us
ensure that the National Institutes of Health fully implements their
Parkinson's Research Agenda. Because you see, time is not neutral for us; it
is an urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Terry Bowers
P.O. Box 55
Tehuacana  TX  76686
254-562-2846 daytime phone
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