Spring 2006

The Honorable __________________ __________House (or Senate) Office Building Washington, DC 20515 (20510)

Dear Congressman/Senator ______________:

As a constituent who votes, I am writing about an issue that is very important to me, medical research funding. Specifically, I am writing to urge you to support a 5% increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) during fiscal year 2007.

I (my child, my friend, etc) have a rare skin disease called ichthyosis. Research at the NIH is key to making much needed progress in treatments and, hopefully, a cure for ichthyosis.

Ichthyosis is a family of genetic skin diseases characterized by severely dry, thickened, scaling skin. Symptoms of ichthyosis range widely depending on the variety of ichthyosis involved. My ichthyosis is [personalize]. As you can imagine, life with this disease comes with many physical complications, as well as, social and emotional ones.

Research on the genetics of ichthyosis and improved treatments is vitally needed. The recent doubling of the NIH budget led to great advances in genetic research for some types of ichthyosis. However, there is still much work to be done. [personalize with a few sentences]

Investing in research at NIH will lead to better treatments and better lives for patients living with rare diseases like ichthyosis. Please support a 5% increase in NIH funding in the fiscal year 2007 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill.

Thank you for considering my input.

Sincerely,

Your name