JERRY LEWIS TO TESTIFY BEFORE U.S. SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE

TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 15, 2001 - Entertainer Jerry Lewis will testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee to urge the government to increase its funding for muscular dystrophy research by $100 million annually.

Lewis, national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, will appear before the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 27. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. EST in the larger of the two Senate hearing rooms.

Lewis' testimony will be a landmark event in MDA's 50-year history. Although MDA has never sought government funds for itself, nor is it doing so now, the Association is pushing for the National Institutes of Health to boost significantly its funding to researchers who are working to develop therapies for the nine forms of muscular dystrophy.

Lewis will be speaking for the first time before federal legislators.

"I've been fighting these evil diseases for 50 years, and now it's time for the government to jump into the ring," Lewis said. "MDA has done the hard part: finding the genetic causes for almost every form of muscular dystrophy. Now, dollars are the only hurdle to speeding up the search for treatments and cures.

"Thousands of 'my kids' and adults who have muscular dystrophy are counting on us. We owe it to them, and to the American people who have generously backed MDA's battle for five decades, to capitalize on what we've learned and wipe out this horrible thing for good," Lewis said.

Lewis will be joined by Leon Charash, M.D., chairman of the MDA Medical Advisory Committee, and Chris Rosa, Ph.D., scholar, educator and disability rights advocate who is a member of MDA's National Task Force on Public Awareness. Rosa is affected by Becker muscular dystrophy. Both men are members of MDA's Board of Directors.

Benjamin Cumbo, a 13-year-old from Upper Marlboro, Md., and his parents, Benjamin and Deborah, will also accompany Lewis during his testimony. Benjamin was MDA's National Goodwill Ambassador in 1996 and 1997, when he and his family toured the country garnering support for MDA. He has Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Muscular dystrophy is the name given to a group of disorders caused by genetic defects and characterized by weakening and eventual wasting of voluntary muscles. The muscular dystrophies can also weaken the muscles of the heart and those required for breathing. The most severe form is Duchenne, which affects young boys and dramatically shortens life span.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. More information about MDA and the diseases it fights can be found on its Web site, www.mda.org.

Read biographies of: Jerry Lewis, Benjamin Cumbo, Chris Rosa, Ph.D., and Leon Charash, M.D.

Read the testimonies of: Jerry Lewis, Chris Rosa, Ph.D., and Leon Charash, M.D.