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I just had a very unsatisfying discussion regarding the Udall Bill with Richard Ford of Sen. Pat Moynihan's office. FYI - Moynihan is undeclared on the bill. Ford (and I assume Moynihan) was not particularly interested in the plight of PDers, nor the opportunities for near term medical breakthroughs, nor research funding inequities, etc. He saw the issues as follows: 1. Will Kassebaum's committee send the Udall bill to the Senate floor? Why or why not? I got the sense he was testing whether Moynihan would have to adopt a public position. 2. No funding bills will clear the Senate unless they will help elect Bob Dole and that everyone had to lobby Dole. He claimed Moynihan is not on the right committees, is powerless, and we are in a woeful situation. This certainly wasn't a helpful attitude - here I am a powerless US Senator - don't blame me. YUK! It sure would help if Senators took positions on things they believed in! Come on NY-ers. Let's smack this guy into hearing us. Afterall, if there are 1-1.5M diagnosed PDers, their affected circle of voters is 8-10M counting spouses, caregivers, family, friends... And this is a lot of votes! You can reach Dick Ford at 202-244-4451, M-F 10-6 Maybe we should try someone else as well... like Nancy Kassebaum