Supporting Our Men and Women Serving in the Military and Urging Congress to Continue Funding for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program (ALSRP) at the Department of Defense

Floor Speech

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* Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support for our men and women serving in the military and to urge Congress to continue funding for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program (ALSRP) at the Department of Defense.

* Studies conducted by the DOD and Veterans Administration have found that those who served in the 1991 Gulf War are approximately twice as likely to die from ALS, the deadly disease that took the life of baseball legend Lou Gehrig, as those who did not serve in the Gulf. In addition, current research suggests that ALS is occurring at greater rates in those who are serving in the current conflict in Iraq. Tragically, there is no effective treatment for ALS and it is fatal in just two to five years after diagnosis.

* The ALSRP is an innovative program that has the potential not only to develop new treatments for ALS that benefit our soldiers and veterans but also to determine why they are at greater risk and enable us to take action to protect them. I therefore urge the Appropriations Committee to include $5 million for the ALSRP in the FY 2009 DOD Appropriations bill.

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