U.S. Senator Susan Collins, who co-chairs the Senate Diabetes Caucus, was joined recently by football legend and Coach John Madden, and a bipartisan, bicameral group of her colleagues in a press event calling for Congress to take action to avoid 35 percent cuts in crucial diabetes research. Madden’s eight-year-old grandson, Sam, suffers from juvenile diabetes. The press conference was hosted by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which is supported by Senator Collins.
Specifically, press conference participants are calling on Congress to renew the Special Diabetes Program this year. If the program is not renewed, federal support for type I diabetes research will be cut by 35 percent.
Senator Collins said, “Diabetes imposes an enormous personal toll on individuals and families. It also places a tremendous economic burden on our country, costing more than $132 billion annually and accounting for one out of every three Medicare dollars. Fortunately, after a decade of investment, the Special Diabetes Program, which funds federal research for both Types 1 and 2 diabetes, is making tangible improvements in the lives of Americans who live with the disease. It is also making significant progress toward a cure. So this is no time to take our foot off the accelerator and we must continue to pursue a national strategy aimed at curing this terrible disease.”
Since Senator Collins founded the Senate Diabetes Caucus, funding for diabetes has more than tripled from $319 million in 1997 to more than a billion dollars last year.
Coach John Madden said, “I want to do my part to ensure that the federal commitment to diabetes research remains strong. My grandson, Sam, insisted on cutting a family vacation short at Disney World this week just to be here in Washington, D.C. and take a stand with me to help find a cure for diabetes.” Madden thanked Senator Collins and other participating Members for their commitment to diabetes research funding.”