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FROM: Daily News (New York) October 10, 2001, Wednesday FOUR STAR EDITION HEADLINE: REEVE WON'T LET US FORGET OTHERS WHO NEED OUR HELP BYLINE: BY MITCHELL FINK WITH LAUREN RUBIN BODY: There was a time recently when many believed that George W. Bush's presidency might be defined by his handling of the controversial issues surrounding stem-cell research. Then came Sept. 11 and a change in national priorities. Now, with billions of dollars needed to fight a war, rebuild a city and care for broken families, you won't find too many people still talking about stem cells. Christopher Reeve, on the other hand, hasn't stopped talking about it. The paralyzed actor-director, who spent his summer making an eloquent case for increased federal funding, is in Washington today to receive a $2 million government check from Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. The money will enable Reeve to launch the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, in Springfield, N.J. The PRC, which is being developed by Reeve's Paralysis Foundation, will serve as an information clearinghouse for disabled people and their families. Stem-cell research, which could lead to new therapies for debilitating diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and juvenile diabetes, as well as for spinal-cord injuries, is one issue Reeve's group is watching. "It's important to keep in mind that when the President said, 'Let's return to normal,' we have to remember that normality for 54 million disabled Americans is not the same as for everyone else," Reeve told me. "We have been assured that the federal funding for the National Institutes of Health will not be diminished because of Sept. 11, and we are very grateful for that." Reeve said scientists are hard at work on the stem-cell lines that were approved by the President Aug. 9 and Thompson has assured him that funding will not be rescinded because of the crisis. "There was enough publicity before Sept. 11 about the number of people who could benefit from this research. No one is going to forget about it," Reeve says. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn