American Society of Hematology

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have still not yet passed a final version of the FY07 Labor-HHS spending bill, which funds the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Congress returned to Washington briefly following the November elections and decided to delay its decision on NIH funding until mid-February. In the meantime, NIH will be funded at its FY06 level.

It is crucial to contact Congress to generate interest in supporting increased FY07 NIH funding. Please help ASH's grassroots advocacy efforts by sending the letter below to your Senators and Representative.

Thanks for taking action on behalf of ASH! If you have questions, or need more information, please contact ASH Research Advocacy Manager, Tracy Becker at (202) 776-0544 or tbecker@hematology.org.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a hematologist interested in research on serious blood disorders, I write to urge your support of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance groundbreaking basic, clinical, and translational research.

I am seriously concerned that the funding levels being discussed for NIH in the FY 2007 House and Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations bill provide an insufficient funding level for the Institutes and its research programs that are critical to furthering science and America's health. The funding levels under consideration may force NIH to choose between ongoing basic research efforts or new clinical research activities, resulting in an overall slowdown in medical discoveries.

Unless NIH is adequately funded, it will be extremely difficult for hematologists and other health professionals to train promising researchers, create research advances, and improve the health of all Americans. For hematology, if there is only a minimal amount of growth in FY 2007 NIH funding, research resources into cures and treatments for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma; bleeding disorders such as hemophilia; clotting problems such as thrombosis; and, genetic disorders such as sickle cell disease, and Cooley's anemia, among others, would effectively remain frozen.

Please support the highest possible funding level for NIH in FY 2007.

Thank you for your interest in this issue and I appreciate your support. Please contact me if I can provide additional information to you.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
December 06, 2006