I have been asked to post this to the PD list by Mike Claeys, Parkinson
Action Network
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House-Senate Conference To Decide Fate of Udall Bill



In the coming weeks ultimate passage of the Udall bill will be

determined in a joint committee of Senators and Representatives

responsible for next year's labor, health and education spending.



Over the past several months, the House and Senate Appropriations

Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related

Agencies (Labor/HHS) have each crafted their fiscal year 1998 spending

bill.  Very shortly, the committee members from both bodies will meet

together to resolve the differences in their respective bills.  This

"conference" will ultimately agree upon one final version--referred to as

a "conference report"--of the Labor/HHS Appropriations bill.  The

conference report will then be voted on by both the full House and

Senate, and, if passed, go on to the President.



On September 3rd, the Senate added the Udall bill (in the form of an

amendment offered by Udall champions Senators Paul Wellstone, D-MN, and

John McCain, R-AZ) to its version of the FY '98 Labor/HHS Appropriations

bill.  The vote was 95 - 3.



For procedural and strategic reasons, a similar amendment incorporating

the Udall provisions was not offered during consideration of the House

version of the FY '98 Labor/HHS Appropriations bill.



Therefore, if the Udall bill is to become law this year the House's

conference committee members must agree to adopt the Senate's Udall bill

provisions and include them in the final conference report.



Medical Research Funding



The Senate Labor/HHS bill contains other important differences with its

House counterpart that are of interest to the Parkinson's community.

Both versions call for increased funding for biomedical research through

the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but the Senate's increases are

significantly higher and deserving of adoption.  In the Senate bill, the

NIH receives a $952 million (7.5%) increase over FY '97, while the House

bill provides only an additional $764.5 million (6.0%).  Moreover, under

the

Senate plan the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke

(NINDS), the Institute responsible for the bulk of federally funded

Parkinson's research, receives a $55 million (7.1%) increase over FY

'97.  The House bill provides only a $36.9 million (5.1%) increase in

the NINDS budget.



The additional funding provided by the Senate bill is essential to

pursuing research opportunities not only in Parkinson's disease, but to

continue a robust national research agenda.



The Parkinson's Action Network, other national and local Parkinson's

organizations, and many determined individuals are making every effort

to ensure that the Udall bill and the higher NIH funding levels become

law as part of the FY '98 L/HHS Appropriations bill.





What You Can Do



As spelled out above, negotiations surrounding the Udall bill have

reached a critical and rather sensitive stage.  While the basic message

of the advocacy campaign remains the same (the devastating human and

fiscal costs of the disease, the tremendous promise of Parkinson's

research, and the need to correct the historic lack of federal

investment in that research), some alterations in the audience and

delivery of the message are now required.



At this time advocates should contact only their own

Senators and Representatives.  Contact with Senators not from one's

state, or Representatives outside one's district is not likely to be

very helpful, and may prove to be counterproductive.  (Please contact

the Network with any questions regarding the Senators and

Representatives from particular areas.)



 The exceptions are, of course, the Udall bill's Senate and House

sponsors: Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN), and

Representatives Fred Upton (R-MI) and Henry Waxman (D-CA), who deserve

the thanks and support of Parkinson's activists all across the country.





Contacts should focus on Udall bill supporters.  In addition

to the bill's sponsors, thanks and encouragement should be given to all

Udall cosponsors, and to all Senators who voted for passage of the Udall

Amendment.  (Cosponsor and vote tallies available from the Network.)



Particular encouragement should go to Udall supporters serving

on the House/Senate Labor/HHS Conference Committee.  The members of this

committee will determine the Udall bill's fate, so it is critical to

maintain their strong and vocal support.  (Conference Committee lists

and information can be obtained from the Network.)



Encourage supportive Members to also adopt the larger NIH and

NINDS budget figures contained in the Senate's Labor/HHS bill.  This

additional funding is critically important to Parkinson's and many other

areas of promising research.  These two requests are part of a logical

and consistent approach to establishing a more robust and more equitable

system of biomedical research funding, and should not be viewed as

confusing or contradictory.



This is not the time for aggressive lobbying of Members

known--or even suspected--to have reservations about the Udall bill.  In

the interest of our goal of Udall passage this year, confrontation,

controversy or rancorous debate should be strictly avoided.  (Please

contact the Network with questions regarding the disposition of

individual Senators or Representatives.)



The Udall bill and the NIH budget increases are tantalizingly close to

ultimate passage, and would not have gotten to this point without the

inspired and persistent work of grassroots activists across the country.

 An additional effort is required to achieve the goal, and that effort

now needs to be more positive, more focused and more disciplined than

ever.



The Parkinson's Action Network can be reached by phone at

1-800-850-4726, or via email at [log in to unmask]



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