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We too, had written letters and made several phone calls to Kevin J. Donnellan, Director, Advocacy and Management of AARP, during the past months. On June 2 a letter was sent to Dr. Margaret A. Dixon, President of AARP, and she forwarded the letter to Mr. Donnellan for a response which we received yesterday. Part of the content is the same as appeared in the letter received by Stephan. It reads, .. "rather than endorsing a disease-specific approach to research funding, AARP generally supports adequate funding for all of the diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which impact older Americans." The point is, Parkinson's does not receive adequate funding from NIH. This morning we mailed a response to Mr. Donnellan and Dr. Dixon which states in part, ....."AARP support of the Udall bill would not be inconsistent with its support of the ten national Alzheimer's centers, the National Institute of Arthritis, etc. Contrary to the desire of AARP, adequate funding for Parkinson's research has not been forthcoming from NIH. As the enclosed reprint indicates, it is Dr. Varmus's intent that Parkinson's research funding not be increased and that if Parkinson's is to benefit at all it will be accidental, by research on other neurological diseases. In other words, a standard is being applies to Parkinson's unlike that which is applied to Alzheimer's, MS, etc "We know that AARP support.of the Udall bill, HR 1260 (239 co- sponsors in the House) and S 535 (61 co-sponsors in the Senate) can make the difference between whether it is passed by the 105th Congress, or in fact whether it is even allowed to be voted on." Included with the letters to both were copies of the great article written by Joan Samuelson in the last PAN newsletter dealing with the double standard, and copies of advocacy materials provided by PAN and Jim Cordy. As stressed by Stephan, continued contact with our legislators is of the utmost importance. An influx of letters sent to Dr. Margaret A. Dixon, President with a copy to Kevin J. Donnellan, Director, Advocacy and Management, might just cause AARP to reconsider their position, or lack of same, re the Udall bill. AARP is at 601 E Street NW, Washington DC 20049. Thank you. Dolores Gross