The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America just sent out this legislative Action Alert for support of increasing the the budget of the NIH. Below I included some information about Crohn's and Colitis and the action alert follows it.
Taken from `Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Enhancement Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are serious inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
(2) Crohn's disease may occur in any section of the gastrointestinal tract but is predominately found in the lower part of the small intestine and the large intestine. Ulcerative colitis is characterized by inflammation and ulceration of the innermost lining of the colon. Complete removal of the colon in patients with ulcerative colitis can potentially alleviate and cure symptoms.
(3) Because Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis behave similarly, they are collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease. Both diseases present a variety of symptoms, including severe diarrhea; abdominal pain with cramps; fever; and rectal bleeding. There is no known cause of inflammatory bowel disease, or medical cure.
(4) It is estimated that up to 1,400,000 people in the United States suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, 30 percent of whom are diagnosed during their childhood years.
(5) Children with inflammatory bowel disease miss school activities because of bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain, and many adults who had onset of inflammatory bowel disease as children had delayed puberty and impaired growth and have never reached their full genetic growth potential.
(6) Inflammatory bowel disease patients are at high risk for developing colorectal cancer.
(7) The total annual medical costs for inflammatory bowel disease patients is estimated at more than $2,000,000,000.
SUPPORT AN INCREASE IN FUNDING
FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
The House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education is expected to mark-up its FY08 funding bill this week. This bill provides annual appropriations for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
All Crohn's & Colitis Foundation advocates are encouraged to contact the members of the House Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee and ask that the FY08 bill provide a 6.7% funding increase for NIH. In addition, please contact your own member of the House of Representatives and ask them to encourage the members of the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee to provide a 6.7% increase for NIH.
This increase would halt the erosion of the nation's medical research enterprise, and enable investigators to accelerate the momentum of discovery for conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. The 6.7% proposed increase has been endorsed by hundreds of the nation's leading medical research organizations and patient advocacy groups -- including the Foundation.
The members of the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee are listed below. If you do not know who your specific Representative is, please go to www.congress.org and enter your zip code. Phone numbers for all congressional offices are also listed on www.congress.org. Calling works best, but if you prefer to communicate via e-mail, you can do so through www.congress.org.
Some tips for calling congressional offices:
1. Ask to speak with the legislator's Health Aide.
2. Introduce yourself and explain what IBD is and how it impacts you and your family.
3. Emphasize how important research is to improving the quality of life for IBD patients.
4. Specifically ask the legislator to support a 6.7% increase for the NIH in FY08. If that member is not on the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, ask him/her to communicate their support for a 6.7% increase to the Subcommittee.
5. Give the aide your contact information and ask to be kept informed of the legislator's actions on your request.
Thank you! Please keep us informed at advocacy@ccfa.org of the e-mails you have sent, and the responses you have received.
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE LABOR-
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES-
EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
Representatives and phone numbers:
Chairman: David R. Obey (D-WI): 202-225-3365
Nita M. Lowey (D-NY): 202-225-6506
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT): 202-225-3661
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL): 202-225-0773
Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI): 202-225-4911
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA): 202-225-1766
Barbara Lee (D-CA): 202-225-2661
Tom Udall (D-NM): 202-225-6190
Michael Honda (D-CA): 202-225-2631
Betty McCollum (D-MN): 202-225-6631
Tim Ryan (D-OH): 202-225-5261
Ranking Member James Walsh (R-NY): 202-225-3701
Ralph Regula (R-OH): 202-225-3876
John E. Peterson (R-PA): 202-225-5121
Dave Weldon (R-FL): 202-225-3671
Michael K. Simpson (R-ID): 202-225-5531
Dennis Rehberg (R-MT): 202 225-3211
