May national awareness Month for Cystic Fibrosis!

Dear Friends,

We have some exciting news. We are pleased to tell you that, over the past seven days, Congress and the President took action on four separate bills that champion the rights and health of people with cystic fibrosis.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation played a hand in each of the following developments:

• The Senate officially recognized May 2008 as National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month.
  


• Congress passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) today. This law makes it illegal for employers and insurance companies to discriminate based on genetic information.
  


• President Bush signed into law the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act, which provides resources and funding for new and existing newborn screening programs through 2012.
  


• The House of Representatives reauthorized the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. This program awards grants to small biotechnology companies that conduct important CF research.
  

Each of these initiatives has tremendous potential to help people with CF. These bills help increase awareness of cystic fibrosis, focus research funding on CF, and establish critical legal protections to help people with the disease live longer, healthier lives.