The Lupus Foundation of America recently applauded the U.S. House Appropriations Committee for approving the fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.
The new bill includes important funding that is dedicated to education and research concerning lupus. The bill offers $6 million in funds to the National Lupus Patient Registry Program based at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It also provides $2 million for the Office of Minority Health (OMH), part of the Health and Human Services Department, for its clinical trial action plan. Another $33.3 billion increases medical research conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
These lupus programs for research and education are crucial for understanding the disease and decreasing the time it takes to diagnose the illness among patients. A recent Dear Colleague letter from the Congressional Lupus Caucus emphasized why these programs are needed for the sake of national health.
There are currently 28 congressional members who offer their support to the lupus programs based at the OMH and the CDC.
The next step for the bill is to gain approval from the full House, where it is being transferred now.
