Over the past two years, MS activists have helped secure nearly $10 million for MS research through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The CDMRP is a Department of Defense (DoD) program that is funded annually via the Defense Appropriations Act. Just a couple years ago, there was no MS program in the CDMRP. As a direct result of your activism, not only does MS now have a specific research program but people living with MS also sit on the award panels to help determine how this research money is being spent.
Take action today and ask your members of Congress to support a $15 million appropriation under the CDMRP that will help scientists to better understand the causes of MS and help find a cure. We are asking all legislators to sign a Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Congressmen Russ Carnahan (MO-3) and Michael Burgess, MD (TX-26) in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators Sherrod Brown (OH) and Jim Bunning (KY) in the U.S. Senate.
Preliminary evidence suggests that Gulf War veterans are at an increased risk of being diagnosed with MS. Currently, more than 20,000 veterans are being treated in the VHA with a diagnosis of MS. Many veterans have relevant stories and symptoms of MS. Take action today so that more MS research funding will be made available, benefiting not only our veterans but moving us closer to a world free of MS.
