September 24, 2008
JERRY LEWIS THANKS MD COMMUNITY
AS LEGISLATION PASSES HOUSE
Legendary entertainer and MDA National Chairman Jerry Lewis today expressed gratitude to all those working to pass the Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education (MD-CARE) Amendments of 2008. The legislation which today passed the House, reauthorizes and augments the MD-Care Act signed into law in 2001. The bill still is pending in the Senate.
"I want to thank the entire MD advocacy community for getting behind this crucial legislation and making your voices heard," Lewis said. "Together, we're getting it done."
The original legislation created six Centers of Excellence for muscular dystrophy research under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health.(MDA contributed $1.5 million in funding to each of the first three centers.) MD-CARE also created a Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee to guide research efforts, and a data collection system under the federal Centers for Disease Control.
The reauthorization of the MD-CARE Act (H.R. 5265/S. 2618, titled the Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2008) will strengthen efforts to find cures and treatments for muscular dystrophies, including Becker, congenital, Duchenne, Emery-Dreifuss, facioscapulohumeral, limb-girdle, myotonic and oculopharyngeal. Among other amendments, the reauthorization would enhance clinical infrastructure that "fast track" research findings into viable therapies. MDA is actively promoting Congressional approval of the reauthorization through its national Advocacy program.
"As everyone knows, it's my dream to bring an end to the muscle-wasting diseases that devastate ‘my kids’ and their families," Lewis said. "I'm proud to have been a part of passing the original act and I urge Congress to keep us moving forward by passing the 2008 amendments. We all must continue to make our voices heard."
Lewis, who testified in 2000 at Congressional hearings on the original MD-CARE Act, last week sent a letter to Congress urging passage of the 2008 reauthorization.