Listmembers If you haven't called your representative yet, please make the call today to sign letter to the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations conference committee in support of the Parkinson's Disease Research Ageneda. Read further for more information. Questions? Call PAN at 800-850-4726 Thanks Linda Herman Forwarded from Parkinson's Action Network.: <<Great work everybody!!! We have new Members signing on everyday, but we still have work to do! Extended Deadline: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26th by 5:00pm EDT. A new Dear Colleague letter is being circulated by the Congressional Working Group on Parkinson's Disease and your Member of Congress needs to sign on! Please call your U.S. Representative and ask to speak to their Health Legislative Assistant. Ask them to join the Congressional Working Group on Parkinson’s Disease in urging appropriators to include important provisions in the Labor-HHS conference report that support NIH and the Parkinson's Disease Research Agenda by signing on to the Dear Colleague letter. Please see below for the text of the Dear Colleague letter as well as a list of Members who have signed on as of 9-25-03. Please email or call with any questions. Thanks so much for all your help! Together we can make a difference!!! Thanks- Laura Jane Laura Jane Cohen Director of Outreach Parkinson's Action Network ph: 202-842-4101 or 800-850-4726 [log in to unmask] If you want to find out who your U.S. Representative is, please click here http://capwiz.com/pan/home/ Reps. Signed On As of 9-25-03: Frost (TX), Woolsey (CA), C. Rodriguez (TX), T. Udall (NM), McDermott (WA), Waxman (CA), Baldwin (WI), Quinn (NY), McIntyre (NC), Rangel (NY), McCarthy (NY), Reyes (TX), Tauscher (CA), D. Davis (IL), Deutsch (FL), Schakowski (IL), Abercrombie (HI), Lee (CA), Cummings (MD), Gutierrez (IL), Lofgren (CA), Evans (IL), Maloney (NY), M. Udall (CO), Frank (MA), McNulty (NY), Green (TX), R. Kind (WI), Capuano (MA), Markey (MA), Filner (CA), Van Hollen (MD), Payne (NJ), Turner (OH), Delahunt (MA), P. King (NY), Watt (NC), Norton (DC), Tierney (MA), Kildee (MI), T. Davis (VA), Langevin (RI), Kleczka (WI), Hall (TX), Bell (TX), Berkley (NV), DeFazio (OR), A. Smith (WA), Berman (CA), Wexler (FL), Israel (NY), Slaughter (NY), Wu (OR), Ross (AR), Eshoo (CA), Moran (KS), Jim Moran (VA), Nadler (NY), and Price (NC). Text of Dear Colleague Letter: September 4, 2003 Support Critical NIH Funding for Parkinson’s Disease Research “What neither doctor could give me–after uttering those two words, Parkinson’s disease–was insight into the two words that were popping up in my mind...NOW WHAT?” Michael J. Fox University of Miami Medical School Convocation May 10, 2003 Over one million Americans – young and old, male and female – suffer from Parkinson’s disease. This degenerative disorder attacks cells in the brain, causing a progressive loss of muscle control, leading eventually to paralysis and death. But, it does not have to end this way. The National Institutes of Health has developed a comprehensive agenda to aggressively pursue a cure for Parkinson’s Disease. This agenda deserves our full support in Congress. Federal investments in medical research reap tremendous rewards. NIH is without a doubt the foremost leader in Parkinson’s research. We must continue to support the good work that they do. Both the Senate and the House passed Labor-HHS Appropriations bills include Parkinson’s Disease language. Please join the Congressional Working Group on Parkinson’s Disease in urging appropriators to include both important provisions, specifically the Senate language requiring that NIH follow the five-year Parkinson’s Disease Research Agenda (PDRA) that it developed in 2000. We further urge conferees to submit a report to Congress on the steps they are taking to implement PDRA. With increased NIH funding, in as little as 5-10 years, we may be able to answer Mr. Fox’s question. Now what? A cure. Please contact Mandy Wimmer (Evans) at 5-5905 or Orly Isaacson (Maloney) at 5-7944 to sign onto the letter. Sincerely, LANE EVANS CAROLYN MALONEY FRED UPTON MARK UDALL Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress (This is the letter that will ultimately be sent to the L-HHS conferees with the signatures of all the members who have agreed to sign on) Dear Conferees: We respectfully request your continued support for biomedical research in general, and Parkinson's disease research in particular. As you may be aware, recent advances in Parkinson's disease research have given us great hope that a cure is on the horizon. The science regarding Parkinson's has advanced to a stage where greater management and coordination of the federally-funded research effort will accelerate the pace of scientific progress dramatically and reasonably soon lead to a cure. In light of these developments, NIH has developed the five year Parkinson's Disease Research Agenda (PDRA). More than one million Americans suffer from Parkinson's disease. NIH's research agenda gives the best chance for scientists to achieve the breakthroughs that will lead to effective treatments and eventually a cure for these individuals. Already, NIH's program is making breakthroughs in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and serves as an excellent example of the type of program that is moving us closer everyday toward a cure for Parkinson's. Both chambers saw fit to include specific, but different Parkinson’s disease language in their respective Labor-HHS Appropriations bills. Therefore, as both provisions have significant merit, please support the inclusion of both the House and Senate language provisions concerning Parkinson’s disease in the final conference report. Specifically, we support the Senate language requiring that NIH follow its own Research Agenda that it developed in 2000. We further urge conferees to retain the provision encouraging NIH to submit a report to Congress on the steps they are taking to implement PDRA. We encourage your continued support of the Parkinson's community. Thank you for your attention and consideration to this matter. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn