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ACTION ALERT

Contact the office of your Senator serving on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and ask that they support “interstitial cystitis (IC)” as a condition eligible for study through the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 appropriations process

Background

Early each year, the United States Senate crafts an annual Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations bill, which includes a list of conditions that are deemed “eligible for study” through the Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP). In order for a condition to be included, Senators need to support the condition and officially ask for its inclusion. Senators have many competing appropriations priorities and in order for them to support a condition-specific request, they need to be educated and asked to do so by constituents.

Senators are currently working on the FY 2018 DoD appropriations bill and deciding which conditions will be included on the next PRMRP eligible conditions list. At this critical juncture, if your Senator is listed below as a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee please reach out to their office and ask that they “support the inclusion of interstitial cystitis (IC) in the DoD PRMRP’s eligible conditions list in FY 2018.”

Take Action

• Please consult the list below and see if one of the Senators from your state serves on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
• E-mail ICA’s Washington Representative, Philip Goglas II, at Goglas@hmcw.org and let him know that you would like to reach out to your Senator in this regard. Please include the state you live in in your e-mail as Phil will use this information to identify your Senator and their appropriate staffer.
• Phil will provide you with the e-mail address for your Senator’s health staffer (in addition to their name) and a brief message like the one below.

The Honorable _______

________ Senate Office Building

Dear Senator_______,

Thank you for your work on behalf of the community of individuals affected by serious chronic inflammatory conditions. I am contacting you today to ask that your office supports the inclusion of “interstitial cystitis (IC)” as a condition eligible for study through the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) during the Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations process. I also wanted to thank you for your past support, which helped ensure that interstitial cystitis remained eligible for study through the PRMRP and IC being currently listed on the draft list for eligible conditions for FY 2017.

IC is becoming increasingly prevalent among active personnel and veterans and is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. DOD supports important research on medical conditions that impact military personnel, their families and veterans through the Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program. Congress has historically included IC in the list of eligible conditions for research under this program and IC researchers compete successfully each year.

I hope you will work with your colleagues in support of keeping interstitial cystitis in the current draft list of eligible conditions for study as you finalize the current FY17 appropriations and once again list interstitial cystitis in FY 2018 as a condition eligible for study through the annual list on the Committee Report accompanying the Senate’s FY18 bill.

On behalf of all interstitial cystitis (IC)-affected constituents, thank you for your consideration of my request.

Sincerely,
[Name]
[Address]

Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Members:

Richard Shelby, Alabama
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
Diane Feinstein, California
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Dick Durbin, Illinois
Jerry Moran, Kansas
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
Susan Collins, Maine
Thad Cochran, Mississippi
Roy Blunt, Missouri
John Tester, Montana
Steve Daines, Montana
Tom Udall, New Mexico
Jack Reed, Rhode Island
Lindsay Graham, South Carolina
Lamar Alexander, Tennessee
Patrick Leahy, Vermont
Patty Murray, Washington
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin