 |
 |
Below are some disease-specific bills introduced in the 105th Congress. I wonder whether our voices will be lost in the general din. I can begin to see the point of people in Congress who say they don't want to fund specific diseases or micromanage the NIH. I care about the other diseases too. One of my parents had cancer and the other died of a heart attack. Although the legislative route is far from perfect (e.g., what about rare diseases that don't have powerful lobbies or bills before Congress?), there is at present no other body than Congress which represents the public as a whole in setting priorities or addressing the fairness of funding allocations. Phil Tompkins Hoboken NJ 60/9 P.S. for another article on the same subject see http://www.the-scientist.library.upenn.edu/yr1998/mar /agnew_p1_980330.html H.R.259 Comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Act H.R.297 Prostate Cancer Research Amendments of 1997 H.R.448 Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Act of 1997 H.R.751 LAM (lymphangioleiomyomatosis) Disease Research Act of 1997 H.R.1062/S.503 HIV Prevention Act of 1997 H.R.1111 Lupus Research and Care Amendments of 1997 H.R.1114/S.419 Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1997 H.R.1219 William A. Bailey Comprehensive HIV Prevention Act of 1997 H.R.1315 Diabetes Research Amendments of 1997 H.R.1451 Pediatric Research Initiative Act of 1997 H.R.1558 Hansen's Disease Program Amendments of 1997 H.R.1585 Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act H.R.1715 National Institute of Biomedical Imaging Establishment Act H.R.2009 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Research, Treatment, and Assistance Act of 1997 H.R.2130/S.349 Women's Cardiovascular Diseases Research and Prevention Act H.R.2697 Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases Research Act of 1997 H.R.2704 Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Resource Center Act of 1997 H.R.2923 Early Hearing Loss Detection, Diagnosis, and Intervention Act of 1997 H.R.3517 Stamp Out Diabetes Act of 1998 H.R.359 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of Health and Human Services should carry out a national public awareness campaign to educate American men and women with respect to colorectal cancer. S.728 Cancer Research Fund Act of 1997 S.1722 Women's Health Research and Prevention Amendments of 1998 Some creative approaches: H.R.407 Breast-Cancer Research Stamp Act. To allow postal patrons to contribute to funding for breast-cancer research through the voluntary purchase of certain specially issued United States postage stamps. H.R.2545/S.1389 To amend title 39, United States Code, to allow postal patrons to contribute to funding for prostate cancer research through the voluntary purchase of certain specially issued United States postage stamps. H.R.3563 Biomedical Research Assistance Voluntary Option Act. To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate that part or all of any income tax refund be paid over for use in biomedical research conducted through the National Institutes of Health.