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Most of the responses we receive from Congress about the Udall Bill are the standard, polite form letters. Jesse Helms is using his as a platform for another issue: scolding people who are supporting AIDS research. Here's the text in its entirety: Dear Miss Yost: Many thanks for your letter supporting increased funding for Parkinson's research through the Morris K.Udall Parkinson's Research, Education and Assistance Act. I, too, am concerned about the health funding priorities being established by Congress and the Administration. We cannot squelch medical innovations that research dollars produce. The reason our health care system is the envy of the world is because of the medical breakthroughs made possible by biomedical research. Sorely needed programs -- such as those seeking cures for Parkinson's disease -- are being shortchanged by Congress in its headlong rush to appease the national AIDs lobby. AIDS is a very serious public threat that merits Federal attention. But that does not mean that funds allocated for Parkinson's disease, cancer, heart disease, and other major illnesses should be diverted to AIDS research. Unfortunately, that is what Congress has done. Federal AIDS funding now exceeds $1.6 billion per year. This compares with $600 million allocated for heart disease-- even though many times more Americans suffer from heart disease than from AIDS. Cancer kills a half million Americans a year, compared to 22,000 killed by AIDS. However, Congress spends only $1.2 billion a year for Cancer research--much less than the $1.6 billion allocated for AIDs research. No formula for funding disease research, prevention and treatment will please everyone. But how funds are allocated must be determined by common sense. American lives are simply too important to allow narrow pressure groups to hold the final say. Kindest regards. Sincerely, Jesse Helms My instincts are sputtering to send him a rebuttal: are only "American lives" so important? Who could begrudge research on any disease? My brothers have serious heart problems and I lost a favorite brother-in-law to AIDS. Does he think we're competing for funding that could help our own families? What's being spent on tobacco subsidies & B1 bombers? sputter..sputter.. Joanne Nelson of WIN suggested that a better reply to a letter like his would be to encourage him to co-sponsor the Udall bill. She's right. There's strength in numbers, even if it means we must include some rather strange bedfellows.