Government Relations

Useful Links

• Determine your members of Congress
• Learn more about legislative issues
• Legislative Updates

What We Do

We are volunteer-advocates who work to secure funding and policies that will accelerate us toward a cure. We actively seek support for federal funding, primarily through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and we encourage lawmakers to vote for policy legislation important to diabetes research.

JDRF advocates Janice Merdgen, with son Will, and Peggy DeGregory, with daughter Nicole, recently met with Representative Jay Inslee (1st district) to discuss diabetes issues.

Why It Is Important

Elected officials are accountable to their constituents—and they do listen. JDRF advocates have a positive impact on the thinking, and voting, of Congress. Because of grassroots JDRF advocacy, federal funding for diabetes research has increased substantially, including a special NIH diabetes program funded at $750 million over five years (FY04-08). JDRF advocates have successfully garnered bipartisan support for embryonic stem cell research, and continue to press for an expansion of current federal guidelines for this promising field.

How You Can Help

Register as an advocate! Advocates receive legislative updates and action alerts via e-mail. Typically advocates are asked to contact their Members of Congress by e-mail, phone calls or personal visits two to four times a year. JDRF provides background information, “talking points,” and contact information for your elected officials. The power of these individual contacts, as quick and easy as they are, is enormous.

• Sign up to be a JDRF advocate today!
• Other Government Relations opportunities include JDRF’s Promise to Remember Me campaign and Children’s Congress.
• Read about a Washington teen who's advocating for diabetes research in local, state, and national government!

Questions?
Contact us at govrelationsNW@jdrf.org

Make Your Promise Today

JDRF’s Promise to Remember Me Campaign—which started in August and runs through May 2008—is an organized effort to generate pledges of support for research funding from legislators around the country. During meetings with Congressional representatives, local families share their stories of life with diabetes, and ask lawmakers to make a significant promise: to endorse a $1 billion federal funding extension for type 1 research over the next five years.

The stakes are high. Federal funding of type 1 research will plummet by 35% if we don’t secure this much-needed extension.

To reach our goal, we need you and your child to participate in a meeting with members of Congress in your community. Take the first step by e-mailing advocacy@jdrf.org to register for a meeting. A volunteer Promise campaign coordinator will contact you to schedule a meeting with legislators.

With such critical research funding on the line, your promise to get involved is more important than ever. Please help us carry the JDRF message to every legislator in the Northwest.