IMPORTANT ALERT: Take Action for Narcolepsy Research
Contact your Member of the House of Representatives and ask them to join the congressional letter regarding the narcolepsy research portfolio at NIH by March 2nd deadline.
The Issue
Over recent years, Congress has been increasing the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a sizable portion of this funding has been going toward the field of sleep research. Enhanced NIH resources have been leading to scientific advancements and breakthroughs, including the 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine. While this is all good news, what is less clear is how much funding is going to sleep disorders, mainly narcolepsy research.
Congressman Schiff of California is preparing to send a letter to NIH inquiring on the current size, scope, and direction of the narcolepsy portfolio (See Letters). This letter will encourage NIH to support the full spectrum of narcolepsy research and in responding, NIH will provide Congress and community advocates with a clear overview of recent advancements and emerging opportunities. Congress Schiff has circulated a Dear Colleague letter (See Letters) and is encouraging his fellow House Representatives to join the sign on letter to NIH.
Your House Representative will sign the letter, but only if asked to do so by you (their constituent) and the deadline for signatures is Friday, March 2nd.
Take Action
To take action, it is important to contact your House Representative’s Health Legislative Assistant directly.
FIRST, FIND YOUR REP’S HEALTH LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT:
Go to house.gov and enter your zip code in the upper right corner to find your Representative’s DC office (202) number. Call the office and request the email or voicemail for the Health Legislative Assistant.- Alternatively, if you would like assistance, please contact the Sleep Research Society’s Washington Representative, Peter Herzog, at 202-544-7499 or herzog@hmcw.org and he will assist you with e-mailing the Health Legislative Assistant directly.
NEXT, MAKE CONTACT:
- Use the draft message below to email or leave a voicemail for the Health Legislative Assistant.
- IMPORTANT: Follow up via email or phone if you don’t hear back within 2-3 business days. Set a calendar notification to help remember. Emphasize the March 2nd deadline.
Draft Message
Subject: Request Sign On for Narcolepsy Research Letter by March 2nd
My name is _________ and I am a constituent from [your city, state]. I’m contacting you today in regards to a congressional sign on letter that Congressman Schiff plans to send to NIH recognizing recent advancements in sleep research and requesting an update on the narcolepsy research portfolio. Please sign on to this letter by contacting Anthony Theissen at Anthony.Theissen@mail.house.gov or 5-4176 before Friday, March 2nd. This letter is important to the community and I would appreciate your assistance with this request.
Read the letter: https://project-sleep.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Dear-Colleague-Narcolepsy-Letter.pdf
[Optional: Share your personal story or interest in this issue in 2-3 sentences.]
Thank you for your time and your consideration of my request. I look forward to hearing from you in this regard.
Sincerely,
[Name, Address, City, State, Zip]
Thank you for your support! Questions or feedback? Email us at info@project-sleep.com.
