WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton put a human face on the
balanced budget deal Friday in praising $2 billion in new federal funding to
fight diabetes.
``When I lived in Arkansas I used to sing in the church choir with a man
who had to quit singing because of complications from diabetes. I have
vivid memories of ... the pain on his face,'' said Clinton in a speech given at
Georgetown University Medical Center.
The president, standing before a red, white and blue placard touting the
funding as a ``dividend for Americans of a balanced budget,'' said he
hoped victims of the crippling and often deadly disease will have ``longer,
happier, richer lives'' as a result of the extra research and care.
Finding new money to fight diabetes -- the seventh leading cause of death
in the United States -- was a priority of both Democrats and Republicans
as they worked to forge the balanced budget bill signed into law Tuesday,
Clinton said.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., whose mother-in-law is diabetic,
was ``one of the very first people who spoke to me about the human
dimensions of the disease,'' said the president.
Clinton said the $2 billion will be spent on three programs:
--Expanding Medicare benefits for the estimated 3 million senior citizens
diagnosed with diabetes. Coverage will now include medical monitoring
equipment and instructions on how to manage self-care.
--Increasing funding by $150 million to combat Type one juvenile onset
diabetes. About half of all Type one diabetes sufferers are children.
--Offering a $150 million grant for diabetes prevention and treatment over
five years to the Indian Health Service.
``Native Americans are three times as likely as white Americans to have
this disease, and far less likely to find adequate medical treatment for it,''
said Clinton.
Also, the National Institutes of Health will convene an international
workshop next month ``to discuss the most promising avenues of diabetes
research,'' the president said.
And the Department of Health and Human Services will work with the
American Diabetes Association and other private organizations to
establish guidelines for diabetes care and the prevention of such severe
complications as blindness and amputation.
Among those appearing with Clinton were actress Mary Tyler Moore,
who chairs the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International, and Sandra
Puczynski of Sylvania, Ohio, the mother of a thirteen-year-old with
diabetes.
``Until today, I could never completely assure (my daughter) that a cure
was in her grasp,'' said Puczynski. ``This announcement sends a powerful
and compassionate message to millions of Americans.'' |
