President Bush's FY 2007 budget cuts epilepsy program

Now this really hits home in more ways than one.

On February 6, 2006, President Bush released his FY 2007 budget to Congress. This budget, which serves as a first step in determining how federal dollars will eventually be allocated by Congress to states and local agencies that administer programs, eliminated or sharply cut hundreds of programs. One of the programs eliminated is the Epilepsy Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Included in the President’s Budget are cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Supported Employment programs for people with disabilities, Higher Education demonstrations for Students with Disabilities, Real Choice Systems Change Grants for people with disabilities, and many more. The Epilepsy Foundation is greatly concerned with this budget that cuts so many vital programs for children, the elderly and low-income Americans. While many of these programs have been on the chopping block before, others are cut for the first time this year. The President plans to save $14.7 billion by making these cuts.

The Epilepsy Foundation national staff will be asking for your assistance over the next few months as we work with the Congressional Budget and Appropriations Committees to create a more reasonable budget and to ensure adequate funding for needed programs. First and foremost we will be working to fully restore the CDC Epilepsy Program.

The CDC Epilepsy Program is currently funded at $7.6 million, about half of which supports Epilepsy Foundation and affiliate public health education programs like Emergency First Responders - training about seizures for police, firefighters, and Emergency Medical Technicians, the School Nurse Program which trains school nurses nationwide to understand and respond to seizures in the school environment, and the Take Charge of the Facts program which helps teens take charge of their seizures and health care. Additionally, the CDC Epilepsy Program has a component called Seniors and Seizures which includes advocacy, research and education about this fast growing population of people often experiencing seizures for the first time.

Without the CDC funding, these programs and others funded by the CDC could not happen. We hope that you will join the Epilepsy Foundation national office and work with us as we fight to restore funding for our program. There are several action steps that will be needed over time. Some of these actions include:

* Helping to place letters to the editor or op-ed pieces in your local newspapers

* Writing letters or placing calls to Capitol Hill asking for restoration of the funding for the CDC Epilepsy Program

*Visiting key Members of Congress during the Public Policy Institute (PPI)/ Kids Speak Up! Program March 28-31, 2006.

Through e-mails and by targeted calls, we will keep you apprised of how you can help and will provide messages and templates to assist you. Please also encourage people to join the Speak Up Speak Out network to assist us in restoring our funding this year. If you have any questions regarding the President’s Budget or the congressional process for funding, please contact Donna Meltzer at dmeltzer@efa.org.

Sincerely,

Alexandra (Sandy) K. Finucane, Esq.
VP, Legal and Government Affairs
Epilepsy Foundation
301-918-3760
301-459-0340 F