From: Alec Stone <alec@fnidcr.org>
Date:
To: alec@fnidcr.org
Subject: FNIDCR Action Alert: NIH Reauthorization
Dear Friends of NIDCR,
As you are well aware, this last election brought a change
to
Congress’ political landscape.
However, before the next Congress is
sworn in, there are still many
important bills that could adversely
affect our community. One such bill
is HR 6164, the NIH Reform Act
of 2006, which passed the House in
September. Of real concern to
our community is NIDCR's long-term existence and funding stream.
The bill puts this in jeopardy. The bill is now being
considered in
the Senate.
Passed by a 414-2 vote, House Republican leaders are
pressuring the
Senate HELP Committee to quickly move the
bill before year’s end.
Senate Democrats have not heard from many NIH stakeholders
with
concerns. However, if groups
contact the Senate outlining the
potential damage, it may slow down
its consideration this year. If
the Senate does choose to proceed,
we need to advocate for an
amended bill. Regardless, NIDCR
advocacy groups should send a
letter to the Senate HELP
Committee.
Attached is a sample letter that can be altered to reflect
your
group’s particular concerns. Send
your letters to the entire HELP
Committee. Individuals are
encouraged to send this to their
Senators, especially if they are from a state with a Senator
on the
Committee
Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
(HELP)
Committee:
Michael Enzi, R - Wyoming, Judd Greg, R - New Hampshire,
Bill
Frist, R - Tennessee, Lamar
Alexander, R - Tennessee, Richard Burr,
R -
Ohio, John Ensign, R - Nevada, Orrin Hatch, R - Utah,
Jeff
Sessions, R - Alabama, Pat Roberts, R - Kansas
Edward Kennedy, D - Massachusetts, Christopher Dodd, D
-
Jeff Bingaman, D - New Mexico, Patty Murray, D - Washington,
Jack
Reed, D - Rhode Island, Hillary Clinton, D - New York,
James
Jeffords, I -
We encourage you to call of FAX your personal message to
Members of
the Senate HELP Committee, at: http://capwiz.com/dentalresearch/
directory/committees.tt?commid=slabo
to get e-mail addresses and
FAX numbers of HELP Committee members. Follow the member
links to
the Member’s contact information.
Once again, thank you for your efforts to maintain and
strengthen
the NIDCR research program.
Sincerely,
Alec
Alec Stone
Executive Director
Friends of NIDCR
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