Home: Publications: Forum Archives: MFF Forum, edition 1
MFF Representing You in Washington
The Mycosis Fungoides
Foundation is a member of the Coalition of Patient Advocates
for Skin Disease Research (CPA-SDR), a coalition of national
skin organizations representing individuals with skin disorders
throughout the United States and the world. These organizations
are dedicated to patient education, support, research, and promoting
public awareness.
The National Institute
of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is a
component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIAMS
Coalition is composed of over 55 voluntary and professional associations
concerned with their programs. Each year, CPA-SRA joins with The
Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) and NIAMS at congressional
budget time to advocate for appropriate funding levels for research.
The goal is to increase the NIH budget by 100% over a five-year
period ending in 2002. Working as a team, appointments are made
to contact representatives from coalition members' home states
and key budget committee members to discuss the need for additional
funding for NIH projects. Teams consisting of both physician and
patient advocates made over 60 visits to congressional offices.
As a constituent, you
can help too. Write your senators and representatives and ask them
to support NIH funding for research. Your legislators listen to
you. Your local representatives and senators addresses can be found
by searching under your ZIP code on the Internet at: www.visi.com/congress/.
In a time when the national
budget is overburdened with many requests for funding, it is especially
important that we continue to thank the legislators who are working
on our behalf in Washington and encourage their continued support
of research and health issues.
More information on NIAMS
can be found at: http://www.niams.nih.gov.
Senator
Edward Kennedy, NIAMS Director Dr. Stephen Katz, and Dr. Thomas
Kupper, SID member and Mycosis Fungoides Foundation Medical
Advisory Board member, at NIAMS Day.
Members of
the CPA-SDR with Senator Kennedy at NIAMS Day.
