Following is a retyped transcript of both the Dear Colleague letter and the
proposed letter to the President that Senator McCain and Senator Wellstone's
offices sent out yesterday (12/9). I have retyped this because #1) I don't
have a scanner, and #2) the original message sent out by PAN through Barbara
Schirloff was illegible.
transcript follows...
December 9, 1997
Dear Colleague:
We are writing to you as a cosponsor of the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's
Research and Education bill which was signed into law on November 13, 1997 as
a part of H.R. 2215, the Labor/HHS Appropriations bill.
As you know, the Morris K. Udall provision authorizes up to $100 million for
Parkinson's disease research by the National Institutes of Health. Recently,
there have been tremendous new discoveries and progress made by scientists
regarding Parkinson's disease which clearly illustrate how close we are to
finding a cure and treatment for this deadly disease. Therefore, it is
critical that funding for the Udall bill be included in the FY1999 budget
cycle to keep this momentum going and provide much-needed funding for critical
research.
We plan to send the attached letter to President Clinton stressing the
importance of including full funding as authorized by the Udall bill in his
FY1999 budget request for HHS.
Since you were one of the 64 cosponsors of the Udall bill, we hope that you
would support our request to President Clinton.
Sincerely,
Senator John McCain
Senator Paul Wellstone
December 9, 1997
Dear President Clinton,
As you prepare the federal budget request for fiscal year 1999, we urge you to
include funding to implement the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research and
Education Act.
As you know, this important provision authorizing $100 million for Parkinson's
research at the National Institutes of Health was included in H.R.2264, the
FY98 Labor/HHS Appropriations bill, which you signed into law on November 13,
1997.
Parkinson's disease is a cruel and debilitating disease which afflicts more
than one million Americans. People afflicted by this dreadful disease
experience tremors, a loss of balance and repeated falls, loss of memory,
confusion and depression. Ultimately, this disease results in total
incapacity for an individual, including the ability to speak. Each of them
lives with fear and frustration as they become prisoners within their own
bodies, clinging to the hope that a scientific breakthrough may soon be
discovered and they will be liberated.
The Udall provision will sustain the hope of the millions of Americans who
suffer with this disease by increasing the federal government's financial
investment in Parkinson's research and allowing us to make significant
scientific progress.
Recently, our nation's scientists have been making tremendous progress in the
field of Parkinson's research. In fact, there are significant indications of
a very strong potential for major breakthroughs in identifying the cause and
treatment of Parkinson's in this decade. According to a wide array of
experts, we are on the verge of substantial, ground-breaking scientific
discoveries regarding the cause and potential cure of Parkinson's disease. It
is imperative that we provide funding for the Udall bill in FY(( and give our
scientific researchers the necessary funding and support to seize this rare
opportunity to beat Parkinson's.
That is why we supported the Udall Parkinson's Research Act and worked
together for it to become law during the first session of the 105th Congress.
We urge you to include full funding for the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's
Reasearch and Education Act as a part of your FY1999 budget request. Millions
of Americans are looking to all of us for the financial support needed to find
a cure for this cruel disease.
Sincerely,
Senator John McCain Senator Paul
Wellstone
PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW TO URGE YOUR SENATORS TO SUPPORT THIS LETTER TO THE
PRESIDENT.
If you need additional information, or would like to know how to get in touch
with your Senators, feel free to reply personally or call me in Washington DC
at 1-888-331-4NPF.
Bill Turenne, Jr.
