Advocacy

The ABC brings together afflicted patients, the families of those that suffer, the caregivers, and the professionals that research and treat diseases of the brain to leverage their combined resources to improve the quality of life for all people affected by brain and nervous system diseases. The ABC’s goal is to be a united voice for these people, and to work with Congress to alleviate the burden of brain disease.

Advocacy Focus

The ABC’s focus for 2013 includes four priorities. They are:

• Increased funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Improving health care for chronic conditions particular to the brain
• Eliminate restrictions on federally funded stem cell research
• Supporting the ethical use of animals in research

Please visit our Position Papers section to learn more about these issues and the ABC’s recommendations.

NIH and Sequestration by State Spreadsheet

United for Medical Research, a coalition of research institutions, patient and health advocates, and private industry that advocates for funding for the National Institutes of Health, recently created an analysis of the impacts of sequestration on NIH funding in each state. The American Brain Coalition has updated the UMR analysis using the recently released 8.2% reduction figure included in the Office of Management and Budget report on sequestration.  The ABC encourages you to use this resource in your advocacy for a balanced approach to deficit reduction, which would not disproportionately impact NIH and other public health agencies.

ABC Creates White Paper as Advocacy Tool

ABC is proud to announce its creation of a White Paper that our members can use both as a handout to Members of Congress and to educate themselves about ABC’s stance on certain issues.  The White Paper succinctly lays out the issues at hand and what ABC hopes Congress will do to address the problem.  ABC’s key issues are addressed: health research funding, chronic care, stem cell research, and the ethical use of animals in research.  We believe that the White Paper is reader-friendly and can be used as an advocacy tool.  If you have any questions, please contact Katie Sale at  ksale@americanbraincoalition.org.