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This is being posted on behalf of Mike Claeys, PAN: Date: Sun, 01 Jun 1997 18:44:18 -0700 From: "Parkinson's Action Network" <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: [log in to unmask] Organization: Parkinson's Action Network Friday Action Update As Congress=92 Memorial Day District Work Period winds up and the House and Senate prepare to go back into session, the Parkinson=92s advocacy community anticipates several new cosponsors to be added to the Morris K. Udall Parkinson=92s Research Act. =20 Meanwhile, grassroots advocacy efforts in Washington, DC and around the country are picking up in both intensity and organization. Parkinson=92s activists working in support of the Udall bill and increased appropriations for research are also urged to support the highest possible budget allocations for the House and Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittees. =20 Efforts are underway to provide a $2 billion increase for the NIH in fiscal year 1988 from the budgets of the Labor-HHS Subcommittees.=20 Senators Connie Mack (R-FL) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) have drafted a letter to Appropriations Chair Ted Stevens (R-AK) requesting that funding increases for the NIH be considered in the allocation to the Committee. Immediate grassroots action is necessary to demonstrate popular support for this initiative. Please contact the Network with questions or for more information. These updates are intended to inform and inspire Parkinson's activists, and you are encouraged to publish, reproduce and distribute them to any and all interested persons. Udall Bill Update Senate: With an overall majority achieved, the focus remains gathering two more Republican cosponsors from the ranks of the Labor & Human Resources Committee. Still unsigned are Chair James Jeffords (VT), Dan Coats (IN), Judd Gregg (NH), Bill Frist (TN), Mike Enzi (WY) and Tim Hutchinson (AR). Grassroots efforts are underway in each of these states, but more activity and coordination is needed=20 House: More Members of the Commerce Committee continue to sign onto the Udall bill, including Ohio Republican Paul Gillmor, who was not a cosponsor in the 104th Congress. Ongoing emphasis on Committee members of both parties is required, however, to pressure Chairman Thomas Bliley (VA) to act on the bill. Co-sponsor Count Senate: 52* House: 186 The majority of Senators are now cosponsors, and the House total is rapidly approaching the 218 required for majority. New cosponsors can only be added to bills while the Congress is in session, so no new cosponsors were officially added during this week=92s recess. However, as mentioned above, there are several Representatives and at least one Senator who have stated their intention to sign on. Look for those Members in next week=92s update. When you see any of your local Legislators listed here, please contact them to say, "Thanks for supporting the Udall bill!" Please call PAN for information: 800-850-4726 Margaret Tuchman (55yrs, Dx 1980)- NJ-08540 [log in to unmask]