Urge Your Senators to Vote NO on H.R. 1, the 2011 House Spending Plan

Last week, the House of Representatives voted to approve a spending bill (H.R. 1) for fiscal year 2011 that cuts over $60 billion from domestic discretionary programs. This legislation would be damaging to the numerous federal health agencies that are important the SADS Foundation and SADS patients.

The Senate will return to session on February 28th--International Rare Disease Day-- following this week's President's Day recess. In honor of this special day, why not take a minute and contact your representative.  At some point next week, the Senate will vote on H.R. 1. If the bill fails, the Senate is likely to develop a more reasonable FY11 spending bill with fewer cuts to important health care programs.

Currently H.R. 1 includes the following: 

• $1.6 billion cut to The National Institutes of Health (5%).
• $242 cut to The Food and Drug Administration (10%).
• Over $1 billion cut to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (20%).

Moreover, the House bill denies funds to the Department of Health and Human Services for further implementation of the health reform law. This could seriously undermine the implementation of new consumer protections for patients with chronic diseases and pre-existing conditions.

Take Action NOW! 

We encourage you to contact your two senators before March 1st and urge them to vote NO on H.R, 1, the House FY11 spending plan.   

You can use this message or compose your own: 

"As a constituent and SADS patient, I urge you to vote NO on H.R. 1, the House of Representatives FY11 appropriations bill, when it is considered in the Senate. While I appreciate the need to reduce the growing federal deficit, slashing domestic spending on critical programs related to biomedical research, disease prevention, and drug safety is short-sighted. If we are to adequately address our nation's debt and deficit challenges, all federal programs need to be involved in the process, not just discretionary programs. As you know, domestic discretionary spending represents a minority of the federal budget. Please vote NO on the House legislation, and work to craft a new bill that protects important investments in biomedical research and public health. Please keep me apprised of your actions on this important issue."

You can determine your member of the Senate and their contact information by logging on to www.congress.org and entering your ZIP code in the top right hand box.