SUPPORTING AN AMERICAN CENTER FOR CURES
WHEREAS,
every day, even though new scientific breakthroughs are encouraging, Americans
continually lose their personal battles against disease and these discoveries
and breakthroughs that create hope for future cures are of little comfort to
those suffering from life-threatening diseases that remain unresolved; and
WHEREAS,
for tens of millions of individuals and their families affected by devastating
illness, the urgency to find cures is a matter of personal survival; and
WHEREAS,
diseases strike all Americans, regardless of their race, religion, gender,
political party, age, insurance status, or any other demographic identification
and we will all be beneficiaries of finding cures to chronic and terminal
illnesses; and
WHEREAS,
finding cures not only improves the health of mankind, it will improve our
economic well being and it is said that by simply delaying the onset of
Alzheimer’s disease by five years, our state Medicaid budget crises for long
term care would be completely solved; and
WHEREAS,
the American Center for Cures, with cabinet-level authority, will possess
unique skill sets and tools, operational flexibility, multi-year budgeting, and
public accountability, will have the capacity to convert the urgency felt by
millions of Americans personally affected by deadly and debilitating disease
into concrete, deliberate and unrelenting work to find cures; and
WHEREAS,
although this endeavor is the Manhattan Project of this century, the American
Center for Cures would not be about building institutions or assembling turf
for its stewardship – its purpose would be to use America’s great strength,
intensely focused on applied medical science discovery; and
WHEREAS,
the American Center for Cures will be accountable by one measure only, this
uniquely focused organization with multi-disciplinary teams of research
scientists, biologists, technologists, chemists, mathematicians and engineers,
working together on each disease in a Manhattan Project/moon-shot like
approach, gives America a real opportunity, once and for all, to combat
cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, AIDS, heart disease, mental
illnesses and many other diseases that have plagued America and the world for
ages; and
WHEREAS,
the American Center for Cures will be the bridge between the promise of
scientific opportunities and the reality of our nation’s health needs and will,
uniquely, take whatever actions are necessary to develop and deliver cures,
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U. S. Conference of Mayors urges the
establishment of the American Center for Cures, adequately funded, and the
creation of a cabinet level position supporting and guiding its efforts.
©2004 U.S. Conference of Mayors 