Urge Your Members of Congress to Participate in Your Congress-Your Health

Research!America and our partners have launched Your Congress-Your Health. Every Member of Congress has been invited to respond to a questionnaire about medical research, the deficit, and support for federal agencies that conduct research to improve health (NIH, FDA, CDC, NSF, and AHRQ). Please contact your Representative and Senators TODAY to urge them to respond to the questionnaire.

Cuts to research funding have already occurred at NIH, NSF, CDC, and AHRQ. That is why it is more important than ever for Americans know where lawmakers stand on these critical issues.

Take action now!

Profiles of Promise

“Medical care cost is reduced. And then, of course, it gives people this hope and the opportunity to enter back into the work force and become productive members of society.”

~Representative Dave Reichert (R-WA-8)

Above are excerpts from Profiles of Promise – a campaign lead by United for Medical Research that highlights Members of Congress who have distinguished themselves through advocacy for health research.

Congressman Reichert’s quote says it all. We know that investments in health research can not only reduce the cost of medical care, but enable people to live more productive lives. This message is even more salient at a time when the nation’s budget deficit is being driven by unprecedented spending for health care. Better and more cost effective treatments offer a way to bend the cost curve.

But there’s something to be said for increased productivity too. When we’re productive, we’re working and earning an income, which means we’re paying into the tax system. Tax revenue, in turn, will help governments at the local, state, and federal level that are still reeling from the down economy. These revenues will enable government to fill the funding gap with domestic dollars rather than continuing to borrow from overseas.

Without a doubt, medical research is part of the solution to today’s biggest challenges. Profiles of Promise recognizes leaders from both sides of the aisle who understand and act on this. As you look at the members profiled in the campaign, try to find your representatives and if you do find them, be sure to thank them for standing up for medical research. If you can’t find your members of Congress featured, ask yourself, why isn’t my representative here?

Strategies for Reaching Congress in 2011

Percent of Members of 112th Congress On the Record by State

Your Candidates-Your Health - the award-winning voter education initiative - had more than 400 candidates on the record in 2010 for a total of 170 members of the 112th Congress on the record through Your Candidates-Your Health and its sister initiative, Your Congress-Your Health.

To conclude our 2010 Your Candidates-Your Health initiative, Research!America held a post-election analysis last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, DC.
Former Congressman and Research!America chair John Edward Porter, and Stacie Propst, PhD, Research!America vice president of science policy and outreach tackled tough questions facing research advocates, including one of the most pressing: what strategies will ensure research remains a funding priority in the 112th Congress?

"There’s never been a tougher environment for making research funding a priority. We have to plan how to convince the public and members of Congress that funding for research is a priority," Porter said.

In 1995, as chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for HHS and other agencies, Porter and leaders from business and science met with then-Speaker Newt Gingrich to spur the NIH budget doubling. An effective strategy Porter says should be applied again.

He then proposed several messages for advocacy now: the importance of research to the economy and patients, the importance of maintaining U.S. leadership in science, and the importance of setting priorities for our federal spending.

"It will take motivated, committed people in Washington and motivated, committed people at home" to make members of Congress understand that the foundation of America’s economy is science, technology, innovation and research, Porter said.

Porter encourages Research!America members to generate messages to Congress from their grassroots networks and scientists to become as vocal as patient-advocates—to reach out to local talk radio and newspaper editorial boards and to meet with their delegation’s district offices about the importance of research funding.

To make research for health a priority for the 112th Congress, the community must come together, share ideas, and make their unified voices heard on Capitol Hill. To join Porter and Research!America in this effort, send us your thoughts on messages and strategies for reaching out to Congress and the public in 2011, to advocacy at researchamerica.org.


Listen to a podcast from the event and review a PDF of the slides.

Know Your Candidates

We've told you about Your Candidates - Your Health before, but with a week to go until the election, we thought we'd let some of our supporters tell you why you should use this great tool as you think about how to make your vote count.

Upcoming Congressional Town Hall Meetings

August recess is upon us again, and there's no better time to connect with your members of Congress than when they're in your backyard. The following are some of the members of Congress having town halls, listening sessions, or scheduled one-on-one constituent meetings between now and Labor Day.

Not sure which of these fine folks represent you? Got to yourcongressyourhealth.org, put in your zipcode and check it out! Also, this is by no means a comprehensive list, so check for more events in your area.

Alabama
Rep. Bobby Bright

Arkansas
Rep. Mike Ross

California
Rep. Sam Farr
Rep. Mike Honda
Rep. Dan Lungren
Rep. Ed Royce
Rep. Mike Thompson

Colorado
Rep. Jared Polis

Connecticut
Rep. Jim Himes
Rep. John Larson

Idaho
Sen. Mike Crapo

Illinois
Rep. Judy Biggert
Rep. Danny Davis
(check out Davis' responses to Your Congress-Your Health
and Your Candidates-Your Health)

Louisiana
Rep. Joseph Cao

Maryland
Rep. Donna Edwards

Minnesota
Rep. Keith Ellison

Montana
Rep. Denny Rehberg

Nebraska
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry
Rep. Adrian Smith
New Jersey
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen
Rep. Leonard Lance
Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr.

New Mexico
Rep. Martin Heinrich

New York
Rep. Anthony Weiner

North Carolina
Rep. Patrick McHenry

Oklahoma
Rep. Frank Lucas

Oregon
Rep. Peter DeFazio

South Carolina
Rep. Gresham Barrett

Texas
Rep. Joe Barton
Rep. Kevin Brady
Rep. Michael Burgess
Rep. John Culberson
Rep. Pete Olson

Virginia
Rep. Tom Perriello

Wisconsin
Rep. Ron Kind

Invest in Tomorrow. Invest in Research.

A week or so ago, we invited New Voices to attend Research!America's 2010 National Forum, Invest in Tomorrow. Invest in Research. It was an amazing event - and we'll all be telling you more about it soon. But as a recap, check out Kimberly's live tweeting on NV4Research and the podcasts of the panel sessions below.

From left: R. Tjian, J. Howse, T. Frieden, J. Woodruff, P. Chew, C. Clancy

Panel 1: Working Toward Better Health for All

Moderator: Judy Woodruff, "PBS Newshour"

• Paul Chew, MD, chief science & medical officer, sanofi-aventis U.S.
• Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Jennifer Howse, PhD, president, March of Dimes Foundation
• Robert Tjian, PhD, president, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

From left: M. Hamburg, F. Collins, B. Kunz, M. Kinsley, J. Watters,
& M. Anderson

Panel 2: Translating Discoveries into Better Health

Moderator: Michael Kinsley, The Atlantic

• Margaret Anderson, executive director, FasterCures
• Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director, National Institutes of Health
• Margaret Hamburg, MD, commissioner, Food and Drug Administration
• Barbara Kunz, president, Health and Life Sciences Global Business, Battelle Memorial Institute
• Jack T. Watters, MD, vice president of external medical affairs, Pfizer Inc.

View more photos from the 2010 National Forum.

Research in this Lab is Funded by ARRA

Download/print a copy of this sign for your lab!

You've probably seen signs on roads nationwide advertising that the construction projects are being supported by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars. But why should road construction (usually increasing traffic!) be the only thing Americans associate with the stimulus funds?

In every state across the country, communities are already seeing the benefits of more than $1.3 billion dollars awarded in NIH ARRA funding for over 6018 projects.

Research!America has developed an interactive map that details how the NIH ARRA funding is distributed on both the state and district level.

In addition to research highlights on each state page, there are links to Your Congress–Your Health where visitors are encouraged to send a message to their member of Congress about the issues of research, health, and the economy.

As major recipients of ARRA funding (read: taxpayer dollars) it is important that the scientific community tell the story about the value and economic impact of these research projects.

How is this unprecedented investment impacting your institution and your community? Share your stories in the comments, or email them to hbenson at researchamerica.org.

And, don't forget to download/print a copy of the sign featured at the top of this post to display in your lab!

Majority of Americans Support Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research continues to fill the news as the science progresses in this exciting field of research. We recently learned that scientists have been able to create teeth using stem cells in mice; and another team activated stem cell genes without using a virus, eliminating some problems with earlier models.

With the public focus shifting away from the controversy of stem cell research and toward the scientific possibilities, New Voices was curious about where Americans stand on the issue of stem cell research. We turned to a recent poll commissioned by Research!America for the Your Congress-Your Health initiative. Here are some of our findings.

Support for federally funded embryonic stem cell research has increased

Summer 2009: 73% of Americans support expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Summer 2005: 57% of Americans supported federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Support for therapeutic cloning (Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer) has also increased

Summer 2009: 74% of Americans support therapeutic cloning (SCNT).

Summer 2005: 59% of Americans support therapeutic cloning (SCNT).


What explains the change in public opinion? Do more people understand stem cell research? Has the end of President George W. Bush’s term in office affected public opinion?*

Since 2005, the majority of the public has supported both embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. Today, the majority of the public that support this research has grown significantly.

With that in mind, the minority--those opposed to expanded federal funding for stem cell research--is shrinking. Yet the shrinking minority has become even more vocal in their opposition to federal funding. We say this play out in the public comment period for the NIH stem cell guidelines.

In July 2009, President Obama ordered federal agencies to enact the new rules governing federally funded stem cells, updated by the NIH and originally mandated by his Executive Order. According to an ABC News/MedPage Today report written at the time:

"Of 49,000 public comments submitted to the NIH on its proposed guidelines, at least 30,000 were from groups and individuals who flat-out oppose federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

These were determined to be non-responsive the question, said Dr. Kington, [the then acting Director of NIH]. 'We did not ask them if we should fund human embryonic stem cell research. We asked in what circumstances should we fund human embryonic stem cell research.'"

This leaves the majority of Americans who do support expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research with one choice--speak up!! Our voices won't be heard unless we use them.


*Recall that when the 2005 poll was administered, President Bush was holding strong on his restrictions for federally funded embryonic stem cell research. Despite President Bush's objections, the public and Congress supported expanding federally funded stem cell research. Congress passed legislation to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research twice, only to be vetoed by President Bush.


This is Part 3 in our series highlighting data from the Your Congress-Your Health poll.
Part 1 - Can you name a living scientist?
Part 2 - Poll Methodology
Part 3 - STEM Education

Visit District Offices for Your Congress-Your Health

Your congressional delegation needs to hear from you about Your Congress-Your Health. The August district work period is an ideal time to stop-by your representative's and senators' offices to let them know that you want them to share their views on health and research on www.yourcongressyourhealth.org.

Download and print a Your Congress-Your Health flier. Choose from one of three fliers that each highlight a different topic.

• Research for Health (PDF)


• Health Reform (PDF)


• Economic Competitiveness (PDF)

Complete your personal information and message and then drop-off a copy at the district office of each of your congressional members. Find contact information for your representative and senators.

Alternatively, you can print a flier and bring it to a town hall meeting, fax it to your members or you can send them an e-mail. Take action and visit your local congressional offices today!

Can you name a living scientist

In Research!America's recent Your Congress-Your Health poll, Americans were asked whether or not they could name a living scientist. 65% said they could not, and another 18% were unable to accurately name a living scientist.

That's a total of 83% of Americans who probably don't know that a scientist lives in their neighborhood, works in their building, or teaches their children. I'm glad to see our top contenders in the Coolest Scientist Ever! Championship (vote in the sidebar!) are the #1 and #2 ranked responses - even though Albert Einstein is no longer a living scientist. But, as a country, I think we can do better.

In other questions on the Your Congress poll we saw overwhelming support for research among Americans. Your friends and neighbors, family and colleagues, bus drivers and nail technicians really want more research. And they should know who's doing it.

So take some time this week to introduce yourself as a scientist to someone. If you aren't a scientist, hang out with a scientist friend and encourage them to introduce themselves to others as a scientist.

Write to your members of Congress and encourage them to fund more science. Ask them to get on the record about where they stand on research.

America is a country by the people and for the people, so it is only when we the people start to make science a higher national priority that our elected officials will follow and help make the United States a country where innovation, research, science, and the people behind it are recognized as valuable.

Your Congress - Your Health

There will be no bigger topic on the political agenda this summer than health reform. The decisions that Congress makes will have long lasting effects for all of us - which makes it even more important for us to be proactive citizens. For this reason, Research!America is relaunching its constituent education initiative Your Congress - Your Health for the 111th Congress.

Every member of Congress has been invited to complete a brief questionnaire about research and other issues that affect our health. Help us achieve our goal of getting everyone on the record by visiting www.yourcongressyourhealth.org and sending them a message urging them to participate.

Just put in your zip code and all of your elected officials will appear. Check out their responses, and if they haven't already responded, click the link (it will redirect you) to send them a quick message. It took me less than 5 minutes, and I personalized the message that went to both my senators and my representative.

We'll be talking about Your Congress - Your Health on the blog from time to time, but for regular updates (including alerts when your members of Congress respond), join us on Facebook.