Lupe McCann, Ron & Carole Miller, Father Tom Maloney, Laura Scarola,
Lilian Rohrbaugh, and I met with Rep. Rick Lazio, (R, NY, 2nd Dist.,
Suffolk County) on Thursday. He will not cosponsor because he does not
believe in "ear marking." He believes the scientists at NIH are better
equipped to decide on how research dollars are spent. We responded with
these arguments: Based on NIH's history of and present position of under
funding Parkinson's research in relationship to other disases, and their
failure to supply information on current Parkinson's research funding
despite his and other's requests to do so, we must "ear mark." Many
scientists are predicting that with adequate funding there is a distict
possibility of a cure for Parkinson's in the near future. Scientists are
not saying this about other major diseases. Therefore, if only from a
financial perspective, the best place to invest research dollars today
is in Parkinson's research. If we spend 100 million a year now, we can
save 26 billion or more a year in the future. Unfortunately, NIH has
not, and apparently will not, significantly increase the funds spent for
Parkinson's research. This position is fiscally irresponsible, and NIH
must be forced to alter their stance
Rep. Lazio said that if we could provide reputable sources supporting
our contention that scientists are saying a cure is possible with
adequate funding, he would consider changing his position. He proposed
that when we are in DC in April we have a phone conference in his DC
office with NIH to confront these issues. We will discuss his proposal
with PAN.
However, what I found to be most disturbing was his statement that he
could not see cosponsoring a bill that was not going anywhere, no matter
how many cosponsors we have! He said Rep. John E. Porter (R, IL,
chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Committee, a subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee) has already
decided that the bill will not leave his committee. Rep. Porter has been
characterized as a staunch supporter of NIH.
I found Rep. Lazio to be a genuinely sincere and principled man, and I
have no reason to doubt his word (I can't believe I'm saying that about
a politician!). He said he could take the easy path of agreeing to
cosponsor, but that in principle, he could not abandon his belief that
"ear marking" was wrong.
Any comments or suggestions?
--
Bruce A. Hollenbeck
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