Help Us Keep Sleep Disorders in Department of Defense Medical Research Program

Action Alert: Residents of Alabama, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin

The Department of Defense (DOD) is finalizing the list of conditions eligible for funding through their Medical Research Program, and we need your help to ensure that sleep disorders like RLS stay on that list! Send us your RLS story about why more research is needed and we will deliver the letter to your legislator.

With your help, we will contact all Senators serving on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and ask that they continue to support the inclusion of "sleep disorders" as conditions eligible for study through the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 appropriations process. 

Background

Each year, the United States Senate crafts an annual 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 their constituents (You).

As a result of grassroots outreach, the Senate has recognized sleep disorders as a condition eligible for study annually for a number of years. This support allows RLS medical researchers to compete for nearly $300 million in federal research funding each year.

Senators are currently working on the FY 2019 DOD appropriations bill and deciding which conditions will be included on the next PRMRP eligible conditions list. Being included on the list one year is no guarantee of being included again in the next year. At this critical juncture, please reach out to the offices of your Senators and ask that they once again support the inclusion of “sleep disorders” in the DOD PRMRP’s eligible conditions list in FY 2019.

Take Action

1. Please consult the list below and see if one of the Senators from your state serves on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Members

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


2. Send us your RLS story via SurveyMonkey!
3. The RLS Foundation will complete the letter template with your story and deliver it to your Senator's office.

Your support is invaluable to the Foundation's advocacy efforts, and we will continue to fight for more funding for research that will help us identify better treatments and a find cure for RLS. You can help make a difference in the lives of thousands living with RLS. Send us your story today!

Don't live in these key states? Your US senators and representatives still want to hear from you – their constituent. It is straightforward and simply a matter of telling your story, sharing your experience and asking them to take your needs into consideration. Want to get involved? Visit the advocacy page of the RLS Foundation website to find out how you can take action now!