I have been asked to post this to the PD list by Mike Claeys, Parkinson
Action Network
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House-Senate Conference To Decide Fate of Udall Bill
In the coming weeks ultimate passage of the Udall bill will be
determined in a joint committee of Senators and Representatives
responsible for next year's labor, health and education spending.
Over the past several months, the House and Senate Appropriations
Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related
Agencies (Labor/HHS) have each crafted their fiscal year 1998 spending
bill. Very shortly, the committee members from both bodies will meet
together to resolve the differences in their respective bills. This
"conference" will ultimately agree upon one final version--referred to as
a "conference report"--of the Labor/HHS Appropriations bill. The
conference report will then be voted on by both the full House and
Senate, and, if passed, go on to the President.
On September 3rd, the Senate added the Udall bill (in the form of an
amendment offered by Udall champions Senators Paul Wellstone, D-MN, and
John McCain, R-AZ) to its version of the FY '98 Labor/HHS Appropriations
bill. The vote was 95 - 3.
For procedural and strategic reasons, a similar amendment incorporating
the Udall provisions was not offered during consideration of the House
version of the FY '98 Labor/HHS Appropriations bill.
Therefore, if the Udall bill is to become law this year the House's
conference committee members must agree to adopt the Senate's Udall bill
provisions and include them in the final conference report.
Medical Research Funding
The Senate Labor/HHS bill contains other important differences with its
House counterpart that are of interest to the Parkinson's community.
Both versions call for increased funding for biomedical research through
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but the Senate's increases are
significantly higher and deserving of adoption. In the Senate bill, the
NIH receives a $952 million (7.5%) increase over FY '97, while the House
bill provides only an additional $764.5 million (6.0%). Moreover, under
the
Senate plan the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke
(NINDS), the Institute responsible for the bulk of federally funded
Parkinson's research, receives a $55 million (7.1%) increase over FY
'97. The House bill provides only a $36.9 million (5.1%) increase in
the NINDS budget.
The additional funding provided by the Senate bill is essential to
pursuing research opportunities not only in Parkinson's disease, but to
continue a robust national research agenda.
The Parkinson's Action Network, other national and local Parkinson's
organizations, and many determined individuals are making every effort
to ensure that the Udall bill and the higher NIH funding levels become
law as part of the FY '98 L/HHS Appropriations bill.
What You Can Do
As spelled out above, negotiations surrounding the Udall bill have
reached a critical and rather sensitive stage. While the basic message
of the advocacy campaign remains the same (the devastating human and
fiscal costs of the disease, the tremendous promise of Parkinson's
research, and the need to correct the historic lack of federal
investment in that research), some alterations in the audience and
delivery of the message are now required.
At this time advocates should contact only their own
Senators and Representatives. Contact with Senators not from one's
state, or Representatives outside one's district is not likely to be
very helpful, and may prove to be counterproductive. (Please contact
the Network with any questions regarding the Senators and
Representatives from particular areas.)
The exceptions are, of course, the Udall bill's Senate and House
sponsors: Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN), and
Representatives Fred Upton (R-MI) and Henry Waxman (D-CA), who deserve
the thanks and support of Parkinson's activists all across the country.
Contacts should focus on Udall bill supporters. In addition
to the bill's sponsors, thanks and encouragement should be given to all
Udall cosponsors, and to all Senators who voted for passage of the Udall
Amendment. (Cosponsor and vote tallies available from the Network.)
Particular encouragement should go to Udall supporters serving
on the House/Senate Labor/HHS Conference Committee. The members of this
committee will determine the Udall bill's fate, so it is critical to
maintain their strong and vocal support. (Conference Committee lists
and information can be obtained from the Network.)
Encourage supportive Members to also adopt the larger NIH and
NINDS budget figures contained in the Senate's Labor/HHS bill. This
additional funding is critically important to Parkinson's and many other
areas of promising research. These two requests are part of a logical
and consistent approach to establishing a more robust and more equitable
system of biomedical research funding, and should not be viewed as
confusing or contradictory.
This is not the time for aggressive lobbying of Members
known--or even suspected--to have reservations about the Udall bill. In
the interest of our goal of Udall passage this year, confrontation,
controversy or rancorous debate should be strictly avoided. (Please
contact the Network with questions regarding the disposition of
individual Senators or Representatives.)
The Udall bill and the NIH budget increases are tantalizingly close to
ultimate passage, and would not have gotten to this point without the
inspired and persistent work of grassroots activists across the country.
An additional effort is required to achieve the goal, and that effort
now needs to be more positive, more focused and more disciplined than
ever.
The Parkinson's Action Network can be reached by phone at
1-800-850-4726, or via email at [log in to unmask]
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Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 16:55:58 -0400
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Organization: Parkinson's Action Network
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