California goes to Washington D.C.

 

I was honored to join 300 volunteer advocates and staff from the American Heart Association for You’re the Cure on the Hill in Washington D.C. this April.  We participated in the Rally for Medical Research and visited Senators and Representatives to advocate for two issues that are near to our hearts: NIH Funding and Million Hearts. 

Our first ask was for the House and Senate to appropriate $32 billion for the National Institutes of Health for Fiscal Year 2014 which would actually restore the funding lost by the 2013 sequester and get the NIH “back on track.”  Because of the sequester, California is at risk of losing over 3,000 positions in the research field which could have serious implications on future scientific discoveries.

Our second ask was for a $35M appropriation from the existing Prevention Fund account to be directed to the Million Hearts Campaign that is co-sponsored by the AHA and the CDC.  The aim of Million Hearts is to prevent a million heart attacks in the next five years.  The $35M appropriation would help create a public awareness campaign on the dangers of uncontrolled blood pressure. 

If you couldn’t make it to You’re the Cure on the Hill in Washington D.C., you’re more than welcome to join us on May 1st for California Lobby Day.  This year we need your help to support healthy vending opinions in state buildings and tobacco control policies.  If you are interested in attending please RSVP here. Looking forward to seeing you in Sacramento!

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