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Delores; Congratulations!!! To get that group of people to sign the same document was an accomplishment. Was APDA asked? That would have been the crowning achievement. Charlie MR SEYMOUR GROSS wrote: > > -- [ From: Seymour Gross * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] -- > > To All List Members, > In view of the recent dialogue concerning what is perceived by many to > be a lack of unity among the Parkinson's organizations, I thought you > would be interested in the following. > I recently attended a talk given by Dr. Art Caplan, Director of the Dept > . of Bio Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, who was an advocate > for the Udall bill. Afterwards, we spoke briefly of the efforts that > need to be expended now to actually get monies appropriated. He said > that if we got a letter to him he would see to it that, via a friend, > it is given to Vice-President Gore. I passed this information on to Jim > Cordy and it was presented to the steering committee, which as you know, > includes representatives of the Parkinson's organizations, in an attempt > to get as much organizational unity and support for a joint letter to > the Vice President as possible. In an example of a collaborative > undertaking, Bill Turenne, Jr. of NPF, and Michael Claeys of PAN drafted > the following letter which is addressed to Vice President Gore. The > letterhead reads, "A Joint Statement From National Parkinson Foundation, > Parkinson's Disease Foundation, Parkinson's Action Network." The letter > is signed by Lawrence S. Hoffheimer, NPF; Lewis P. Rowland, M.D., PDF; > and Joan I. Samuelson, PAN. The text is as follows: > > "As President Clinton prepares his fiscal year 1999 budget request, we, > the representatives of the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF), the > Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF) and the Parkinson's Action Network > (PAN) urge you to impress upon him the importance of providing the > resources necessary to fully fund the provisions of the Morris K. Udall > Parkinson's Research Act of 1997. > > "On November 13, 1997, the President signed the Udall Act into law as > part of H.R. 2264, the 1998 Labor, Health and Education Appropriations > bill. For the first time in history, the federal government has > recognized the enormous human and fiscal costs of Parkinson's disease, > acknowledged the tremendous research potential and acted to specifically > increase our national research investment. But more needs to be done. > > "On behalf of the over one million Americans who live with Parkinson's > disease, we hope you will use your influence during development of the > Administration's 1999 budget request to include sufficient resources and > a specific directive to fully fund the $100 million in Parkinson's- > focused research authorized by the Udall Act. > > "Enclosed is a background information sheet on the history of the Morris > K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act of 1997, along with a list of > congressional cosponsors that is a testament to the widespread > bipartisan support this measure has enjoyed. > > "Thank you for your interest and attention to this important matter, and > please do not hesitate to call on any of us for information regarding > any aspect of Parkinson's disease." > > This letter was delivered to Dr. Caplan on Monday, December 22. My > thanks to NPF, PDF, and PAN for agreeing to this joint effort which can > only benefit the Parkinson's community. > > Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year, > Dolores Gross > [log in to unmask] -- CHARLES T. MEYER, M.D. Middleton, WI [log in to unmask]