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Date: Wed, 05 Jul 1995 07:18:20 EDT From: [log in to unmask] (MR ROBERT A MARTONE) Subject: Parkinson's Action Network - Udall Bill Beginning today July 5, the following letter is being sent to various Parkinson's mailing lists covering Texas. The letter with attachments is over 50 pages long and contains some excellent material that I recieved at the PAN Washinton meeting in May. If you live in Texas and want to help please let me know. If you know someone in Texas who you believe can help also let me know. --------------------------------------------------------- Bob Martone [log in to unmask] -------------------------------------------------------- Parkinson's Action Network Invisible No More July 4, 1995 Dear Fellow Texans, My wife has battled Parkinson's Disease for nearly twenty years. She has suffered nearly every phase of the disease including two surgeries to help restore the many losses that have overtaken her over the years. Like most Parkinsonian's we have remained invisible for too long. We are now out of the closet and are seeking your help to find a cure for this awful disease. What may be unique about this letter is that we are not asking you for money. What we are asking for is for you to come out of the closet and be heard by our congressmen and senators. We must let them know that they have in their possession the power to find a cure for this disease, not in the year 2020 or 2050 but by the end of this decade, the year 2000. The Morris K. Udall Bill, Senate bill S 684 and House Bill HR 1462 was reintroduced in April 1995, for consideration, this year, by both Houses. To date only two Texas congressman have come out and said they will co-Sponsor the bill. For this bill to pass we will need at least 16 Texas Congressman and both Senators to agree to be co-sponsors. I have volunteered to be the Regional Coordinator for the State of Texas and am committed to getting our state behind this bill, but I will need your help. As a Board member of the Houston Area Parkinson Society and now a Regional Coordinator for the Parkinson's Action Network, I understand the hard work that it takes to get something like this done. I also know that I can not do it alone. My request is simple. I need 30 volunteers, one for each Congressional District, to agree to call and visit your congressman during the next four months to keep him or her abreast of how many co-sponsors the Udall Bill has and to explain to he or she why this bill is so important to the Parkinson community and to the national budget deficit. I have been to Washington and visited both Senator Gramm's and Senator Hutchison's offices and will continue to work with them and their staff to get this legislation passed. I am committed to getting them and my congressman, Jack Fields on board this summer. If you can't be one of the thirty, you still can help immeasurably by calling and writing your congressman and our senators. I have learned from the Parkinson Action Network that phone calls are tabulated and letters are counted and used by our representatives when they are deciding how to vote on a particular issue. Your taking just a few minutes to make the call or and hour to write a letter is key to our success. PLEASE ACT NOW! DON'T PUT THIS LETTER DOWN AND PLAN TO DO IT TOMORROW. DO IT NOW. Enclosed you will find all that you will need to understand the Udall Bill, and to understand who you should call to get the message across. All our congressmen, and the district they represent, are listed on the attached. If you don't know what district you are in look on your voter registration card. It tells you. Then by looking at the attached list you can determine who your congressman is and then call him and ask him to co-sponsor the Udall bill. Call every week this summer if you have to until he says yes. I am told this works and works well. If you can, visit his/her local office in person and let them see you and hear about the pain and suffering that this disease has brought to you and your family. Caregivers and spouses, you play an important role in getting this done. Many Parkinsonian's can not use the phone because of their tremor or dyskenisia or because their voice will no longer carry this all important message. Your support for your spouse, relative or friend is extremely important to this national effort. We will succeed but we need your help NOW! If you are able to volunteer as coordinator for your congressional district please call or write to me. I will keep you updated on all the latest statistics, scheduled hearings and any important activities taking place around these two bills. All you will have to do is contact >>> 20 line(s) deleted...