Help Prevent Cuts to Vital Lupus Research

Threats to cut or eliminate funding to federal agencies that lead and fund vital lupus research are close to becoming a reality. As Congress grapples with how to reduce our nation’s deficit, there is a lot at stake for people with lupus and their families. Sequestration, or the automatic 8.2 percent across-the-board spending cuts to federal programs, will become effective January 2, 2013 unless Congress takes action.

For lupus research to advance, we need your voice! Major cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other funding agencies would decimate lupus research.

Take action today! Contact Congress and tell them they must continue funding life saving lupus research. The NIH, the CDC, the FDA among others are critical for advancing lupus research, developing and approving new treatments, and supporting people with lupus and their families.

For example, the NIH estimates that with sequestration, funding for approximately 2300 biomedical research grants-nearly one quarter of new grants-will be lost. Labs will shut down, scientists will be laid off, and local businesses that support research centers will close. These medical centers are located at colleges and universities located in your state and perhaps your city. The result…progress on promising new treatments for diseases such as lupus will grind to a halt.

The 2012 election cycle is in high gear. The good news: both the Republican and Democrat policy platforms demonstrate a support for federal investment in biomedical research. Congress is back in Washington for a few short weeks, and now is the time to take action. E-mail your Members of Congress today and educate them on the importance of funding lupus research otherwise lupus programs will suffer significantly, delaying progress in lupus research and hindering efforts to develop new treatments. Thank you.