Urge Congress to support funding for important cerebral palsy research
We need your help. Momentum is joining the Cerebral Palsy Foundation in urging Congress to support federal funding for important cerebral palsy (CP) research at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve lives and outcomes for people with CP.
Congress failed to appropriate any funds for CP research in the current FY2021 budget despite the fact that:
- CP is the most common motor disability in children affecting more than 1 in every 345 children, totaling more than 1,000,000 Americans and 17,000,000 people worldwide;
- In more than 80% of CP diagnosis the cause is unknown;
- CP affects more people than spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, childhood cancer and cystic fibrosis; and,
- 75% of people with CP also have one or more other developmental disabilities.
The draft of the FY2022 Congressional Labor Health & Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations bill provides for $5,000,000 for CP research and encourages the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to conduct an updated study of its 2003 report on the healthcare and societal costs of CP in the US. The appropriations bill also contains language urging the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a Cerebral Palsy Strategic Planning workshop focusing on early detection and intervention.
The modest appropriations request is a necessary first step in securing the Federal resources and attention to prevent and minimize the impact of CP. Please take action today by using our online advocacy site to demand Congress begin to address this huge disparity in Federal medical research spending by approving the LHHS cerebral palsy research appropriation.