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ADA's Call to Congress promotes diabetes research, treatment
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In a unique three-day event, nearly 200 diabetes advocates from the American Diabetes Association will meet face-to-face with members of Congress to seek federal funding for important diabetes research and prevention programs, the Association said in a press release.
The ADA’s signature lobbying event, the Call to Congress, is being held on March 11-13, 2015, in Washington, DC, with the 114th Congress newly underway. Advocates from around the country are gathering at the nation’s capital to ask policymakers to support diabetes research and prevention programs at the NIH and CDC. The advocates have been selected from among children and adults with type 2 diabetes, their families, and local volunteer and advocacy leaders. They will also petition congress for a multiyear extension of the Special Diabetes Program, which promotes type 1 diabetes research at the NIH and funds treatment and prevention programs for American Indian and Alaska native populations. These populations are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes.
Advocates will meet personally with members of congress and their staffs, and will update them on key diabetes legislation that will support crucial research and treatments. They will invite their Members of Congress to join the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, which serves to educate members about diabetes and promote diabetes legislation. After discussing these important initiatives with members of Congress, the advocates will strategize on how to implement and strengthen diabetes advocacy in their own communities. The event will culminate in the presentation of a petition to Congress, featuring more than 28,000 signatures, which will urge congress to do their part to stop diabetes.
“Call to Congress brings diabetes advocates from across the country together in the movement to Stop Diabetes and provides them with the opportunity to tell our federal government how important it is to fight this deadly epidemic,” Janel Wright, JD, chair of the board at the American Diabetes Association, said in a press release. “As diabetes takes a physical and financial toll on this country, federal funding is critical in our nation’s response to this epidemic. Congress must provide leadership and invest in research and prevention programs that will ultimately Stop Diabetes.”
Currently, 30 million Americans have diabetes and an estimated 86 million have prediabetes. The national cost of managing these conditions is $322 billion per year. In an effort to address this overwhelming statistic, the diabetes advocates are urging Congress to provide $2.066 billion in fiscal year 2016 funding for diabetes research through the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. They will also enlist the help of Congress to support and prioritize essential diabetes prevention activities at the CDC by allocating $140.1 million to the agency’s Division of Diabetes Translation, as well as $20 million for the National Diabetes Prevention Program.