In 2013, my hands started going numb and tingling, and it spread to my arms, my chest and my back. At one point I couldn't stand or walk. I've been living with MS ever since. Today I take an oral medication twice a day, and it's a lot easier on me than injections.

I'm not alone. Nearly a million Americans live with MS, according to a National MS Society study. Better treatments come from research, and families like mine need more of it.

One source of that research money is the Multiple Sclerosis Research Program. It got 15 million dollars in fiscal year 2026. In March, 74 members of Congress from both parties asked for 22 million dollars for fiscal year 2027, calling the program "the only dedicated funding stream for MS research." However, the House Appropriations Committee only recommended 20 million dollars in its bill.

Government funding runs out on December 11, and the appropriations bill is still stalled in Congress.

Chairman Ken Calvert, Chairman Mitch McConnell and the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees: fund the Multiple Sclerosis Research Program at 22 million dollars in the final 2027 spending bill.