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We Need Congress to Reach an Agreement to Protect NIH & FDA from Funding Cuts

November 9, 2012

The election is over, and the status-quo remains. Republicans remain in control of the House of Representatives, while Democrats retain control of the Senate and White House.

When Congress returns to work next week for the lame duck session, they must act quickly to protect the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) from funding cuts that would paralyze the development of treatments for patients with rare diseases.

Whether you are pleased or disappointed with the outcome of the election, we can all agree that we urgently need Congress to find a bipartisan solution to prevent sequestration. Please take two minutes today to email your Members of Congress and President Obama to urge them to find a solution that protects rare disease research funding and ensures adequate FDA funding for review and approval of lifesaving treatments.

The potential automatic spending cuts, or sequestration, scheduled to take effect in January 2013, will be devastating for patients as well as the future U.S. leadership of research and development. Sequestration would slash federal investments in critical health, scientific, medical and biological research aimed at discovering treatments, moving safe and effective new medicines to market, and creating the innovations to grow our economy.

If Congress does not reach an agreement – which they have been unable to do for a year – automatic, across-the-board cuts of $1 trillion to nearly all government programs will go into effect. This would mean that the NIH and FDA are each at risk of an 8% budget cut, slowing progress toward developments of new treatments and cures. We simply cannot allow this to happen. Have your voice heard!

Please contact your Members of Congress and urge them to protect funding for the Food & Drug Administration & National Institutes of Health!

https://t.congressweb.com/w/?OIYVJTFFLO

For more information on Sequestration visit RareAdvocates.org

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