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Urge Congress to Join Our Fight for a Treatment Take Action!



We need your help TODAY to continue critical ALS research taking place at the Department of Defense. Senators Robert Casey (D-PA) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) are circulating a letter requesting the Senate Appropriations Committee provide $5 million in funding for the ALS Research Program at the Department of Defense (DOD) next year. We urge you to contact your Senators today to request that they sign onto this critical letter and support our nation's veterans and the entire ALS community. The text of the letter is available here (http://www.capwiz.com/alsa/attachments/Casey_Dole.pdf).

Senators Casey and Dole have just set a deadline of close of business tomorrow, Thursday June 26, for signing onto the letter. So please contact your Senators TODAY!

Sample letters you can email to your Senators are available in the Advocacy Action Center of our website. It is essential that your Senators know how important this program is to our military men and women and to the entire ALS community in your state!

Background
Thanks to the efforts of The ALS Association and advocates across the country, last year, the Department of Defense provided $5 million to establish the peer reviewed ALS Research Program (ALSRP). The program is the only ALS specific research program supported by the DOD. And unlike many other federal research efforts, which focus on basic science, the ALSRP is promoting translational research with the specific goal of finding new treatments for the disease. In fact, the ALSRP is modeled after The ALS Association's TREAT ALS initiative (Translational Research Advancing Therapy for ALS).

Since this year's budget process began in February, The ALS Association has continued to reach out and meet with Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee to request support for the ALSRP in FY 2009. However, your grassroots outreach is needed as the Appropriations process moves forward.

Make ALS a Priority
It is absolutely critical that you contact your Senators TODAY. Over the coming weeks, Congress will make key decisions on which programs to fund next year and they will be bombarded with many funding requests which are competing for limited dollars. In fact, several other organizations have followed our lead and, this year, are requesting funding to start their own programs at the DOD. Therefore, we need to make sure our message is heard loud and clear. We need to make sure that funding for ALS research is a priority!

Please contact the Senate TODAY!

Thank you for your continued advocacy.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact The ALS Association Advocacy Department at advocacy@alsa-national.org or toll free at 1-877-444-ALSA.