*ACTION ALERT* *ACTION ALERT *

Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program

On Wednesday, October 3, 2007, the United States Senate passed the fiscal year (FY) 2008 Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations bill (H.R.3222) by voice vote. Included in the Senate-passed version of H.R. 3222 is $50 million dollars for the DoD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program. This program funds important research on conditions that affect military personnel. Congress must explicitly recognize a condition before it is eligible for funding through the DoD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program. Although scleroderma research has been conducted through this program in the past, presently scleroderma is not recognized on the Senate’s list of conditions eligible for funding that accompanies the $50 million allocation.

The House of Representatives passed H.R.3222 on August 5, 2007, by an overwhelming and bipartisan margin, 395 to 13. Unfortunately, the House-passed version of H.R.3222 provides no funding for the DoD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program and subsequently listed no conditions as eligible for study. Given this and other discrepancies between the two bills, the House and Senate will conference their versions of H.R. 3222 and produce a final version, which will be sent to the President for his approval.

In order to ensure that the DoD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program is funded in the final FY 2008 DoD Appropriations bill, and that scleroderma is included as a condition eligible for study, please contact your member of the House of Representatives and urge them to send the attached letter. To locate your member of Congress simply go to www.congress.org and enter your zipcode. You do not need to contact either of your members of the Senate due to the fact that the Senate already included funding for the DoD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program and submitted their list of conditions eligible for study.

Additionally, it is important that you contact the members of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee that will be negotiating the final FY 2008 DoD Appropriations bill with members of the Senate, and solicit their support for the DoD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program and scleroderma. The members of the Subcommittee are listed in the table below. To locate their contact information please go to www.congress.org and simply type their name into the search field.

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO URGE THEM TO SHOW THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE DOD PEER-REVIEWED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM AND THE INCLUSION OF SCLERODERMA AS A CONDITION ELIGIBLE FOR STUDY.

When calling congressional offices, you should ask for the Health Legislative Assistant. It is important to remain persistent and follow-up, these offices receive numerous calls and everyday and they may not respond to your initial call. If you contact them frequently, they will make it a priority to get back to you.

TALKING POINTS FOR CONTACTING A CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE:

• Introduce yourself and explain your interest in supporting scleroderma research.
• Urge the Representative to join you in supporting the Senate position of a $50 million dollar funding level for the DoD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program.
• Urge the Representative to join you in supporting the inclusion of scleroderma as a condition eligible for study under this program.
• Ask the Representative to send a letter in support of this initiative and offer to forward their offices the attached letter via fax or e-mail.
• Thank the Representative for his/her time and leadership in ensuring better health care outcomes for all Americans.

WHEN SPEAKING TO CONGRESSIONAL STAFF IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT:

• You should always be honest; there is no need to exaggerate problems or results.
• You should make sure the conversation stays polite and respectful. Listen to what
  they have to say and engage in constructive dialogue, even if it’s agreeing to
  disagree.
• You should never get frustrated and engage in an argument. Irreparable harm can be done by unnecessarily upsetting a legislator’s staff member.
• You should always begin or end the conversation by thanking them for taking time
  out of their busy schedule to discuss these issues with you.

THE HOUSE DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE

• Chairman, Congressman John P. Murtha (D-PA-12th) Ranking Member, C.W. Bill Young (R-FL-10th)
• Congressman Norman Dicks (D-WA-6th)
• Congressman David Hobson (R-OH-7th)Congressman Peter Visclosky (D-IN-1st)
• Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ-11th)
• Congressman James Moran (D-VA-8th)
• Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS-4th)Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9th)
• Congressman Roger Wicker (R-MS-1st)Congressman Robert Cramer (D-AL-5th)
• Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA-1st)Congressman F. Allen Boyd (D-FL-2nd)
• Congressman Steven Rothman (D-NJ-9th)
• Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2nd)

PLEASE URGE YOUR CONGRESSMAN TO SEND THE LETTER BELOW (print letter)

(Date)

The Honorable David Obey
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
House of Representatives
H-218 Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable John Murtha
Chairman
Subcommittee on Defense
Committee on Appropriations
House of Representatives
H-149 Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Obey and Chairman Murtha:

As you work to finalize the Fiscal Year 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Conference Report, I am writing to request that the House recede to the Senate position and provide funding for the DOD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program, and include “scleroderma” as a condition eligible for study under the program.

I am grateful to the Committee for including scleroderma in this program in previous years. The word “scleroderma” means hardening of the skin, which is one of the most visible manifestations of this chronic connective tissue disease. The exact cause of scleroderma is unknown, although it involves an overproduction of collagen. The symptoms of the disease vary greatly depending on which body systems are affected. Prompt diagnosis and treatment by a qualified physician may minimize its manifestations and lessen the chance for irreversible damage.

Members of the military and their families currently suffering from this debilitating condition would benefit significantly from continued research through the DOD Peer-Reviewed Program.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need additional information.

Sincerely,

Member of Congress