Congressional Update from the ALSA

We are excited to let you know that last night, Congress passed legislation that included an additional $7.5 million for the ALS Research program at the Department of Defense and an additional $6.5 million for the National ALS Registry. The funding for the Registry is an 11% increase over last year! The legislation now heads to President Obama who is expected to sign it into law.

Thank you to everyone in the ALS community who reached out to their Members of Congress over the past year in support of these two important research programs. Your efforts continue to make a difference. The fact that Congress increased funding for the Registry in a year when cuts were the norm is a testament to the effectiveness of your advocacy.

Since the ALSRP was created in 2007 and funding for the Registry began in 2006, Congress now has appropriated a total of nearly $81 million for the two programs combined! This funding has enabled the ALSRP to support nearly 30 ALS drug development projects. Funding for the Registry has helped to identify ALS cases across the country and has advanced more than 25 research projects investigating potential causes of ALS and ALS incidence and prevalence.

Thank you for helping to advance the fight against ALS!!