June 10, 2025
This Bill has a Backbone. Do These Senators?
Jake Beckstrom
Our Cure Advocacy Network efforts in Wisconsin have passed another threshold.
Last week, the Senate Committee on Health held a public hearing on the $5 million spinal cord injury research grant program bill (SB99) we are advocating for. Thanks to great testimony and overwhelmingly positive feedback from legislators, we are hearing from our legislative contacts that the bill should pass the committee without much, if any, opposition.
As always, our advocates testified expertly about their life experiences and how Wisconsin’s research infrastructure is poised to lead and innovate when it comes to SCI treatments.
Mackenzie Wann testifies last week at the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Health for our SCI Research Grant Bill (SB99) in Wisconsin.
Now that our bill has received a hearing in both Assembly and Senate committees, and looks to be approved by both bodies, the final steps are for the bill to be voted on in both the Assembly and the Senate.
Last session our bill made it to the Assembly floor and passed overwhelmingly (93 Yes to 3 No). Unfortunately, it did not receive a vote on the Senate floor. This is because the current majority party in Wisconsin has an unwritten rule that a bill must whip-up at least 17 votes in the majority party for the bill to even be considered for an overall vote on the Senate floor. On the last day of last year’s legislative session - despite our CAN advocates best efforts - we were one vote shy of seventeen.
Murray Blackmore, PhD, of Marquette University, gives a concise synopsis of why this bill - and U2FP’s group of stellar advocates - are to be commended. Click to watch it.
Our current bill, SB99, will once again be butting up against this “Rule of 17” when it eventually passes through the Assembly floor vote.
In preparation for this roadblock, our Cure Advocacy Network advocates have met with the senators in the majority party multiple times, in order to get ahead of this pesky rule. However, there are still a small handful of senators that have not explicitly offered their support for SB99.
Please take 10 minutes out of your day to call and email two of these five senators today, and a few more minutes tomorrow to call and email the other three senators and ask them to explicitly support SB99.
No matter where you live, even if it is in a different state or country, these two phone calls and emails can be some of the most important emails and phone calls you can make this entire month!
Please contact these senators and ask them to vote yes on the $5 million SCI Research Grant Bill (SB99).
Then tell them how SCI has affected you or your loved one, and how life-changing it would be if you or your loved one were able to have one or more of their lost functions restored (hand function, bowel,bladder or sexual function; etc).
Here’s an script to use as a template if you need it - but remember to make it your own!
Hello Senator _________,
I’m calling because I/my loved one suffers from a spinal cord injury and I need you to support the $5M SCI Research Grant bill - SB99. I/my loved one deals with [neuropathic pain; bowel/bladder issues; etc] from their spinal cord injury that significantly decreases my/their quality of life and prevents me/them from being able to work, travel and live to their/our full potential. Please support SB99 for myself/my loved one.
We don’t have much time - please call and email today.
Then share this email with as many family, friends, or contacts you can, because the more phone calls and emails that get placed, the more powerful Our Voice becomes.
With your help, we can get this done!
