Calling All Sleep Advocates!

You have an opportunity to speak up for sleep!

We need your help on a legislative issue in the Federal Congress. We would like for you to contact your Congressman or Congresswoman, and your Senators to urge their support for funding of a new program on sleep awareness. This new program is the result of a joint effort between the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The NSF is continuing to advocate for sleep and fatigue programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The work by the sleep community over the last two years has led the CDC to add drowsy driving to its research priorities and to address sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, in its national programs.

This year, NSF is seeking $1.5 million in the fiscal year 2002 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill, for The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). This funding would be used to develop and implement a comprehensive five-year sleep awareness action plan to address issues related to sleep, sleep disorders, and the consequences of sleep deprivation such as drowsy driving and on-the-job accidents.

We ask you to write letters to your members of Congress in support of this initiative.

We are providing a sample letter for your use. We suggest that you personalize this letter to convey your personal interest in sleep issues, whether it is from a patient's perspective or from the viewpoint of a sleep medicine professional. We urge you to then send the letter to your congressional representative and to both senators from your state. The NSF would also appreciate having a copy of your letters mailed to them or faxed to their office for follow-up.

We are also providing some tips on contacting your elected Representatives and Senators. (link to Tips article) These tips include links to websites that will help you identify your representatives, as well as some general help on making your views known.

Thank you for taking the time to help out. Without the active involvement of advocates like you, the sleep community would not be able to help advance federal interest in sleep disorders and fatigue. Please share this information with your family, friends and colleagues so we can continue to expand our grassroots network.

If you have any questions about other ways you can support the NSF effort, you may contact Darrell Drobnich, the Government Affairs Director of the National Sleep Foundation at ddrobnich@sleepfoundation.org or (202) 347-3471 ext. 202.