Yesterday we kicked off our first day of legislator meetings, advocating for our $3M SCI Research Grant bill here in Wisconsin. We ended the day with a meaningful evening of strategizing and communal sharing.
We had a great conversation that included Dan Hellenbrand, MS (a quadriplegic and research specialist at the University of Wisconsin), Murray Blackmore, PhD (an SCI family member and neuroscientist from Marquette University) and Kajana Satkunendrarajah, PhD (a professor of neurosurgery and physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin). These scientists were eager to support our efforts, hear from the rest of the SCI community, and share updates from their current work.
Today we’re back at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, meeting with legislators and pressing our case for lawmakers to pass our $3M SCI Research Grant Bill. Your phone calls and emails are a huge factor in determining whether legislators will support this bill.
Please continue to call or email the key legislators I’ve listed below, no matter what state or country you live in. And if you do live in Wisconsin, check to see if you’re a constituent of these lawmakers, and then mention it in your message to them.
When you contact these legislators, you can say something like this:
Dear [Representative or Senator Name Here],
My name is ____ ______, and I [have a spinal cord injury / am family/friend of someone with a spinal cord injury]. Please support our Spinal Cord Injury Research Grant Bill by signing on as a co-author.
This is a smart, efficient bill that would:
- Keep the funds in Wisconsin
- Allow SCI Community members like me to help decide what research gets funded
- Cap indirect costs at 8% (ie no bloated admin costs)
This legislation will get SCI research out of the lab and into people like [me/my family/friend]. We desperately need this bill to be heard and passed this session. Our community can’t wait!
Please contact the following WI Legislators - no matter where you live - and tell them to support the $3M SCI Research Grant program:
- Senator Patrick Testin (R - Stevens Point)
(608) 266-3123 | Sen.Testin@legis.wisconsin.gov
- Representative Clint Moses (R - Menomonie)
(608) 237-9129 | Rep.Moses@legis.wisconsin.gov
- Representative Mark Born (R - Beaver Dam)
(608) 237-9139 | Rep.Born@legis.wisconsin.gov
- Senator Howard Marklein (R - Spring Green)
(608) 266-0703 | Sen.Marklein@legis.wi.gov
- Representative Terry Katsma (R - Oostburg)
(608) 237-9126 | Rep.Katsma@legis.wisconsin.gov
Please call or write today and help push this legislation towards the finish line this legislative session.
Join us!
