The Power of 60: Milestones in Advocacy
For 60 years, the Arthritis Foundation has been defining advocacy. Always plugged in to our role in the community, as well as to the importance of forming relationships with our country’s decision-makers, the Arthritis Foundation is now at a critical point in getting the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act passed and increasing much-needed government funding for research and public health initiatives. As we celebrate the anniversary of the Arthritis Foundation, we are looking forward to making major and lasting strides in our advocacy efforts. We also are looking back at our successes in advocacy, and thanking the millions of Arthritis Foundation advocates for strengthening the Power of 60.
Looking Forward: Making the Power of 60 Work for Future Generations
The Arthritis Foundation has a clear, immediate path ahead of us. Our top priorities in advocacy in the coming months and years are:
- Passage of the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act.
- Increased research funding for the National Institutes of Health.
- Advocating for the increase of CDC funding for arthritis control and prevention programs.
We’re running out of time.
After many years of garnering support and co-sponsors for the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act, now is the time to push passage of this bill -- before our representatives adjourn this summer. You can flex your own Power of 60 by asking your representative to mark up this bill to improve the lives of future generations of millions of Americans with arthritis. Your letter might be the one that gets us to our goal.
You Can Help Change the Future in Five Minutes
Email Congress during the Virtual Advocacy Summit, Feb. 25-27
You can play a very important role: make your voice heard and spread the word. Show your support by participating in the upcoming Virtual Advocacy Summit. It's a great opportunity to tell Members of Congress your personal story of how arthritis affects your daily life. Ask them to cosponsor and, more importantly, pass the Arthritis Prevention, Control & Cure Act. Together, we can change the future and improve the lives of the 46 million adults and 300,000 children living with arthritis. These courageous people need the Power of 60.
- Join the arthritis e-advocacy network.
- Take action on Feb. 25-27.
- Get our alerts in your RSS feed reader.
- Download the Guide to Volunteer Advocacy
Looking Back: The Power of 60 is Born
Just two years after the Arthritis Foundation was founded, we caught the attention of the federal government, prompting the passage of the omnibus Medical Research Act, creating the National Institute for Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases. As the decade came to a close in 1959, the Arthritis Foundation spoke to Congress, calling on the federal government to support the millions of Americans with arthritis by protecting them from phony arthritis cures and treatments. Evidence of the Arthritis Foundation’s success in advocating for the its constituents, 1960 saw the publishing of a report titled, “The Misrepresentation of Arthritis Drugs and Devices in the United States.” The Power of 60 was already at work protecting those living bravely with arthritis.
The Power of 60 Takes on the Hill
Milestones in Advocacy
In 1966, the Surgeon General’s Report designated arthritis as a national health menace and recommended a program to decrease disability from arthritis, further proving that the Arthritis Foundation had the ears of those who could make the nation aware of the toll of arthritis. 1972 brought a major awareness milestone when President Richard Nixon signed a proclamation designating May as National Arthritis Month, paving the way for what is now a push to raise awareness and funds though Arthritis Walks nationwide. The Power of 60 was bringing millions of Americans together to fight arthritis.
Congress passed the National Arthritis Act in 1974, legislating funding for the development of comprehensive arthritis care centers, assistance for medical schools and the establishment of a national commission to develop long-range plans related to arthritis. Twelve years later, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) was established to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases. The Power of 60 was helping to change the landscape of arthritis.
The 1990s were an important decade for the Arthritis Foundation. The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, and President George Herbert Walker Bush proclaimed Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Week. In 1995, the Arthritis Foundation supported the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, resulting in provisions to eliminate pre-existing condition clauses from insurance policies. In 1998, the Arthritis Foundation joined forces with NIAID and NIAMS to form the North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium (NARAC), a national consortium of 12 research centers searching for genes that determine susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis. In 1999, the CDC arthritis program launched and the National Arthritis Action Plan developed by the Arthritis Foundation and the CDC. In this decade, the Power of 60 was stronger than ever.
Our advocacy efforts continued into the millennium with the declaration of Bone and Joint Decade (2000-2010), a coalition of 37 countries, the United Nations and the World Health Organization join together to raise awareness of the serious impact of arthritis. The first ever national arthritis objectives included in The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2010 also included its first ever arthritis objectives in 2000.
On the Verge of a Major Breakthrough
Let's Tip the Scales
We reached the pinnacle of our advocacy efforts in 2004 when the Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2004 was introduced. The first arthritis-specific legislation in more than 30 years, the Act called for the expansion of the federal government's efforts to prevent, treat, and find a cure for arthritis. The Power of 60 is on the verge of a major breakthrough. You may be the one to tip the scales.
