Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
[log in to unmask]
From: Diane Wyshak
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 3:04 PM
To: [log in to unmask] ; ray ; don reed ; chew Nee Kong
Subject: Fw: What a weekend!
----- Original Message -----
From: Parkinson's Action Network
To: Diane Wyshak
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 2:31 PM
Subject: What a weekend!
What a weekend! PAN Advocates Secure Legislative Victories More Info
What a weekend! PAN advocates across America have reason to celebrate today after two major victories on Capitol Hill over the weekend.
First, on Saturday, December 19, the Senate gave final approval to the Department of Defense Appropriations bill, sending to President Obama a piece of legislation including $25 million for the innovative Neurotoxin Exposure Treatment Parkinson's Research (NETPR) program. The NETPR program is the only Parkinson's-specific research program funded by the Federal government. Advocates must work to secure funding for this program every year, and the Parkinson's community rallied through a tough economy to ensure that the NETPR program did not receive a budget cut.
Second, also on Saturday, the Cures Acceleration Network (CAN) Act of 2009, introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), was included in the final Senate version of health care reform legislation. The CAN Act seeks to cut the time between discovery and development of new drugs and therapies. PAN has focused on this troubling trend for quite some time and, thanks to Sen. Specter's leadership and PAN advocates for reaching out to their Senators, a focus has been placed on accelerating tomorrow's therapies and drugs through the development pipeline. The Senate expects to vote for final approval of the bill before Christmas, and PAN will work to sustain the CAN amendment during the Conference between the House and Senate.
It is rare that two major legislative victories come in one weekend, but this is simply a testament to the power of advocacy. PAN advocates worked throughout the year for NETPR program funding, and when the opportunity arose for the CAN amendment to be included in health reform legislation, PAN advocates rose to the occasion.
Thank you to all who helped us achieve these two important successes. Visit PAN's new Web site, www.parkinsonsaction.org, for timely updates on these and all of PAN's projects.
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