Please support H. R. 1187, the Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders Research Enhancement Act of 2017, which was introduced in the House Energy & Commerce Committee by Rep. James F. Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI), on February 16, 2017, and referred to the Subcommittee on Health on February 17, 2017. This bill would expand research, increase funding, and promote awareness and understanding of devastating functional gastrointestinal and motility disorders which greatly impact the lives of millions of sufferers.
These disorders, which include gastroparesis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, dysphagia, dyspepsia, GERD, Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction, and numerous other digestive tract disorders and diseases, are truly life-altering, commonly debilitating or life-threatening, and often have few (or no) safe, reliable, and effective treatments or cures. Available treatment options are frequently accompanied by serious side effects and risks as well. The millions who suffer from FGIMDs deserve awareness and expanded educational efforts on their behalf, increased research funding, and better, more effective treatments or cures.
A brief summary of the Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders Research Enhancement Act of 2017 as established by the Library of Congress reads as follows:
“This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health to expand, intensify, and coordinate its activities with respect to functional gastrointestinal and motility disorders (FGIMDs), including by:
- expanding basic and clinical research into FGIMDs by implementing the research recommendations of the National Commission on Digestive Diseases,
- providing support for the establishment of centers of excellence on FGIMDs,
- supporting innovative approaches to educating health care providers and patients regarding strategies that improve patient-provider relationships and care,
- directing the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to provide the necessary funding for the continued expansion and advancement of the FGIMDs research portfolio, and
- directing NIDDK and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to expand research into FGIMDs that impact children.
The Department of Health and Human Services may engage in public awareness and education activities to increase understanding and recognition of FGIMDs.”
Please ask your congressional representative to expand research, increase funding, and promote awareness of functional gastrointestinal and motility disorders by supporting H. R. 1187. You can find additional information and read the text of the bill at https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1187 or https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr1187. You can find contact information for your representatives at https://www.govtrack.us/. You can find a sample letter to send to your representatives at https://www.iffgd.org/advocate-for-digestive-health/taking-action-in-washington/sample-letter-to-congress.html.
Thank you for your consideration!
*Please note: This bill was formerly known as H. R. 2239, H. R. 842 and H. R. 2311. All three bills died in previous congressional sessions; H. R. 1187 is the current (115th Congress) reintroduction. It is essentially a new bill and must begin the entire process again if it is to be passed. At the time of this writing, this bill had only 7 cosponsors, and we desperately need additional support. Skopos Labs, a data analysis company which evaluates congressional bills, has given H. R. 1187 only a 14% chance of enactment. (This seems bleak, but the bill received a mere 3% chance of enactment during the last congressional session). This bill must pass out of committee, be approved by both the House and Senate in identical form, and be signed by the president by January 3, 2019, to be enacted as law. If it fails at any point in the process, it must be reintroduced in the next congressional session and begin its journey again. The bill gains support with each reintroduction, but we need advocates to contact their representatives and encourage them to cosponsor the bill in order to make significant progress toward enactment.
Sources:
“H.R. 1187 — 115th Congress: Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders Research Enhancement Act of 2017.” www.GovTrack.us. 2017. January 31, 2018. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr1187
“H.R.1187 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders Research Enhancement Act of 2017.” Congress.gov | Library of Congress - https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1187/all-info
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