Demonstrating strength in numbers, on April 4, 76 diverse organizations signed onto a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees supporting the continuation of several dozen medical research programs administered by the Department of Defense. Collectively known as the “defense health research programs,” these programs are funded annually by Congress through the Defense Appropriations Act.
The organizations signing the letter include patient advocacy organizations, medical societies, research foundations and veterans’ organizations.
The effort was organized by the Defense Health Research Consortium, a coalition of 25 organizations representing individuals coping with prevalent conditions like cancer, rare diseases such as tuberous sclerosis complex and neurofibromatosis, and conditions unique to veterans populations, such as Gulf War Illness. The patients represented by these groups have benefitted significantly from the cutting-edge medical research funded through the Pentagon’s health research programs.
CRD Associates organized this consortium in 2014 and is proud to have assisted with this important letter, an important first step in the fiscal year 2017 appropriations process. The impressive grassroots advocacy led by the members of the consortium and other organizations that signed this letter demonstrates a powerful unified front in support of these vital medical research programs!