President Signs MD-CARE Act
Mandating More NIH Emphasis on MD Research

TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 18, 2001 — Approximately 250,000 Americans and their families received an early holiday gift today, as President Bush signed the MD-CARE Act into law.

Passed unanimously by both houses of Congress, the Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2001 (the MD-CARE Act) directs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to put increased emphasis on developing treatments and cures for the nine neuromuscular diseases known as muscular dystrophies.

The bill provides for NIH to establish a series of centers of excellence across the country in order to accelerate government-funded muscular dystrophy research. Congressional co-sponsors and supporters of the new law expect the NIH to increase funding for research and clinical trials of potential treatments for the group of disorders affecting some 250,000 Americans of all ages.

"Passage of this act is a crucial step toward ending these devastating diseases," said Robert Ross, president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which worked closely with both houses of Congress in securing passage of the bill.

Among those who testified before congressional committees in favor of the act were MDA National Chairman Jerry Lewis and MDA Board of Directors member Ed McMahon.

"Jerry and Ed magnificently spearheaded the effort to increase government support of the high-tech research needed to make MDA's 50 years of scientific groundwork pay off," Ross said. "And the ensuing groundswell of support from the entire MDA community got this done. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to every member of Congress who stood up in support of the act.

"We also deeply appreciate the commitment to our lifesaving cause shown by President Bush when he signed this important bill into law," Ross added.

MDA will work closely with NIH officials to draft a research plan for developing the centers of excellence, Ross said.

MDA is working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. Read the full text of the MD-CARE Act. For more information about MDA's programs and the muscular dystrophies, visit www.mda.org.