Hello,
May I call upon you to ask those in your California region to respond to the following? Mary,
specifically, would you please post this on your California e-mail list, and also reach out to
groups in your area in any other way you can? We must at last get the Udall funding this year to
fund exciting PD research. We've got to have more funding for NIH to fund those exciting Pro-Ceed
(sp) grants. Let's all work for success in speeding up a cure.
Thank you,
Charlotte Mancuso
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Dear Charlotte,
I contacted you last week on behalf of the Parkinson's Action
Network (PAN) about urging Congress to increase federal funding for
Parkinson's research during the Appropriations process. The Labor-HHS
Appropriations bill, which funds the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), was originally scheduled to be marked up in the House on
Wednesday 7/21, and in the Senate on Thursday 7/22. However, both
mark-ups have both been indefinitely postponed. While there is a chance
that either of these mark-ups could take place before the Congress
adjourns for the August recess, it is more likely that the mark-ups will
occur some time after Labor Day.
As you know, the Parkinson's community needs to urge members of
the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee to increase federal funding
for Parkinson's research -- and Sen. Feinstein is an important member of
the Subcommittee. The postponement of the mark-ups affords the
Parkinson's community an essential opportunity to mobilize and expand
grassroots efforts. Additional calls, letters, faxes and emails can be
sent to Congress, making the dire need for increased Parkinson's
research visible. If you could continue to help organize advocates in
your state or district to take the following actions ASAP (and
throughout the month of August), it would be extremely helpful. We
would like to set a goal of at least 100 calls and 100 letters to each
key Subcommittee member.
1) Place calls to Sen. Feinstein using the attached script as a
guide. If you don't have the phone number, the Capitol Switchboard at
202-224-3121 can connect you to the office.
2) Fax or mail letters to Sen. Feinstein, using the attached
sample letter as a guide.
3) Ask others (members of your support group, church, community,
etc) to place calls and fax letters as well.
4) Try to schedule appointments with your legislators when they
are in their states/districts during the August recess.
The mark-ups of the Appropriations bills can set funding
benchmarks for important programs like Parkinson's research at the NIH.
Securing favorable legislative language during both the House and Senate
Subcommittee mark-up phases increases the likelihood of a favorable
final result Parkinson's research.
PAN will continue to be in contact with you throughout the next
few weeks to help ensure the Parkinson's community makes a unified and
significant impact on Congress, and will update you regarding the status
of both markups as that information becomes available. Please call PAN
at 800-850-4726 with any questions and keep us updated on your efforts:
send us copies of your letters (PAN, 840 Third Street, Santa Rosa, CA
95404), and email [log in to unmask] or call us with reports.
Thank you for all your hard work!
PLEASE NOTE: Sample Letter for 1999 Appropriations and Guideline Telephone Script for
Appropriations 1999 are in "Part 2"
(file too large to send as one message) Charlotte Mancuso
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