Wonderful news for one group! Let's write letters, call our congressmen
and generally make some noise!
Margaret
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Clinton trumpets diabetes research
provision of new budget
3.32 p.m. EDT (1932 GMT) August 8, 1997
WASHINGTON (AP) =97 President Clinton put a human face
on the balanced budget deal Friday in praising $2 billion in
new federal funding to fight diabetes.=20
"When I lived in Arkansas I used to sing in the church choir
with a man who had to quit singing because of
complications from diabetes. I have vivid memories of ...
the pain on his face,'' said Clinton in a speech given at
Georgetown University Medical Center.=20
The president, standing before a red, white and blue placard
touting the funding as a "dividend for Americans of a
balanced budget,'' said he hoped victims of the crippling
and often deadly disease will have "longer, happier, richer
lives'' as a result of the extra research and care.=20
Finding new money to fight diabetes =97 the seventh leading
cause of death in the United States =97 was a priority of
both Democrats and Republicans as they worked to forge
the balanced budget bill signed into law Tuesday, Clinton
said.=20
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., whose
mother-in-law is diabetic, was "one of the very first people
who spoke to me about the human dimensions of the
disease,'' said the president.=20
Clinton said the $2 billion will be spent on three programs:
=97Expanding Medicare benefits for the estimated 3 million
senior citizens diagnosed with diabetes. Coverage will now
include medical monitoring equipment and instructions on
how to manage self-care.=20
=97Increasing funding by $150 million to combat Type one
juvenile onset diabetes. About half of all Type one diabetes
sufferers are children.=20
=97Offering a $150 million grant for diabetes prevention
and treatment over five years to the Indian Health Service.=20
"Native Americans are three times as likely as white
Americans to have this disease, and far less likely to find
adequate medical treatment for it,'' said Clinton.=20
Also, the National Institutes of Health will convene an
international workshop next month "to discuss the most
promising avenues of diabetes research,'' the president said.
And the Department of Health and Human Services will
work with the American Diabetes Association and other
private organizations to establish guidelines for diabetes
care and the prevention of such severe complications as
blindness and amputation.=20
Among those appearing with Clinton were actress Mary
Tyler Moore, who chairs the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
International, and Sandra Puczynski of Sylvania, Ohio, the
mother of a thirteen-year-old with diabetes.=20
"Until today, I could never completely assure (my
daughter) that a cure was in her grasp,'' said Puczynski.
"This announcement sends a powerful and compassionate
message to millions of Americans.''=20
=A9 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or=
redistributed.
=A9 FOX News Network 1997. All rights reserved. [log in to unmask]
About FOX News Internet
Margaret Tuchman (55yrs, Dx 1980)- NJ-08540
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