SIGN THE DIABETES RESEARCH PETITION TO CONGRESS

More than 30 million Americans live with diabetes; 84.1 million more have prediabetes. With every diagnosis another American’s life is changed forever.

Ask Congress to stand up for diabetes research at National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The petition:

I urge you to support funding for diabetes research and programs at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health and the Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP). A deeper investment in these programs is essential for both our country's fiscal health and to improve the lives of the 114.1 million Americans living with diabetes and prediabetes.

The human and economic cost of diabetes is devastating. More than 30 million Americans have diabetes and 84 million more have prediabetes. Every day, 4,110 Americans are diagnosed with diabetes, while 137 enter end-stage kidney treatment and 295 Americans undergo an amputation because of this disease. The lifetime risk for developing diagnosed diabetes among U.S. adults is a staggering 40%.The annual cost of diagnosed diabetes has skyrocketed to $327 billion, an astonishing 26 percent increase in five years. People with diagnosed diabetes have health care costs 2.3 times higher than someone without diabetes.

The federal government's current commitment to diabetes research and programs is not nearly commensurate with the burden of diabetes, whether measured by the number of people affected, its devastating complications including blindness, amputation, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and death, or the enormous fiscal impact of diabetes.

The lives of people living with and at risk for diabetes are better because of NIDDK research and DDT prevention programs, but much more must be done. I join the American Diabetes Association in urging you to prioritize funding for the following crucial diabetes research and prevention programs.

• $2.165 billion for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH. NIDDK is the primary government agency conducting research to find a cure and advance life- and cost-saving diabetes treatments.
• $185 million for the Division of Diabetes Translation at CDC. DDT leads efforts to prevent diabetes and its terrible complications by developing and implementing state and community-level prevention strategies, outcomes-based research, and education to curb the human and economic costs of the diabetes epidemic.
• $29 million for the National Diabetes Prevention Program at CDC. The National DPP at the CDC is a cost-effective public-private partnership of community, healthcare and faith-based organizations, private insurers, employers, and government agencies aimed at preventing diabetes in the 84 million Americans at risk, including half of all Americans aged 65 and older.

Our nation must address the diabetes epidemic. By supporting diabetes funding at the NIH and CDC, you can improve the lives of all Americans living with, and at risk for, this disease.