December 2006

Dear Advocacy Volunteers,

Warm holiday greetings to all. I recently returned from one of my regular visits to Washington, D.C., as part of the ongoing work of the National Psoriasis Foundation in advocating for greater government investment in psoriasis research to find a cure.

As usual, Gardner, Carton & Douglas (GCD), our government relations firm in D.C., kept me fully booked. With seven Capitol Hill meetings, three visits to federal research agencies and various meetings with psoriasis partner organizations, we made a lot of progress in three packed days.

The atmosphere "on the Hill" was very different than the last time I was there. First, boxes and furniture lined every hallway as members of Congress prepared to move their offices—part of the changes involved following the election. The various congressional offices for the most part were eager to serve us as a community—the Democrats anxious to show the new leadership they can exercise and the Republicans interested in staking out their ground. As you know, the Foundation works in a bipartisan way and is proud to have key psoriasis friends and champions on both side of the "aisle" and in both the House and the Senate. All in all, from our meetings on the Hill, I believe 2007 will be a good one for psoriasis advocacy.

Examples of actions discussed with various congressional offices to take prior to Capitol Hill Day 2007 (February 26) include: sending a follow-up inquiry letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding funding for psoriasis research; having members of Congress make a formal Congressional Record Statement about psoriasis; having a member of Congress circulate a Dear Colleague letter about psoriasis research funding; and investigating the feasibility of various initiatives to improve access to treatments for patients.

In the meetings with federal agencies, we built relationships with key staff and explored where there were interests and opportunities that could benefit psoriasis research. Generally, we meet with each of the relevant sub-institutes under NIH that has a role to play in psoriasis research. This time, we met with the NCCAM (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine), the NIEHS (National Institute for Environmental Health Science) and the NIH ODP (Office for Disease Prevention).

Hearing that the NCCAM and NIEHS both have umbrella programs with available funding for new applications that could include psoriasis research was definitely the highlight of these meetings. We now have to connect the appropriate psoriasis researchers with these opportunities. During my July trip to D.C., we heard a similar message from the NIMH (National Institute for Mental Health) and subsequently sent out announcements of possible grant opportunities there to researchers. We have heard anecdotally now of at least two new research teams preparing applications to the NIMH.

These are just some high points from my recent advocacy days in Washington. Volunteers like you across the country are busy communicating with their members of Congress and congressional staff � which is essential to the success of our efforts. Soon, many of us will be in D.C. for Capitol Hill Day and many more will be joining the effort by phone through Capitol Call-In. All this combined creates a lot of momentum and the collective voice calling for increased psoriasis research and a cure is growing. Thanks for being a part of this vital movement.

Wishing you all the best this holiday season and a wonderful year ahead,

Sheila Rittenberg
Director of Advocacy

P.S. For additional information on Capitol Hill Day or Capitol Call-In, visit http://www.psoriasis.org/advocacy/ or e-mail advocacy@psoriasis.org.