WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), co-chairs of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, announced today that the Senate Finance Committee has marked up a bill that includes a five-year extension of the Special Diabetes Program at the current funding level of $150 million.
On October 31, 2013, Senators Collins and Shaheen sent a letter to Senate leadership, co-signed by 74 other senators, urging the leaders' support and funding for the Special Diabetes Program.
"Since I founded the Senate Diabetes Caucus, funding for diabetes research at the National Institutes of Health has more than tripled," Senator Collins said. "After years of investment, the Special Diabetes Program is making tangible improvements in the lives of Americans who are living with diabetes, and it is also making significant progress toward a cure. That is why it is so critically important that Congress extends funding for this effective program."
"Type 1 diabetes impacts millions of Americans and their families," Senator Shaheen said. "Extending resources for the Special Diabetes Program will protect important investments in diabetes research that ultimately help patients living with type 1 and gets us closer to finding a cure."
"JDRF and its volunteers across the nation are working every day to create a world without type 1 diabetes (T1D)," said Jeffrey Brewer, JDRF's President and CEO. "We are so grateful for the support of the Senate Finance Committee, Senators Collins and Shaheen and the Diabetes Caucus for their leadership in advancing a multi-year renewal of Special Diabetes Program, which is critical to groundbreaking T1D research and provides tremendous return on investment for our nation and the millions of children and adults courageously fighting T1D every day."
The Special Diabetes Program has funded significant Type 1 diabetes research as well as treatment initiatives targeted to American Indian and Alaska Native populations. Since its inception in 1997, the program has received a broad bipartisan backing and has been responsible for significant progress in diabetes treatment and prevention.