Historic Week in Congress For The ALS Association $5 Million ALS Research Bill Signed By President The ALS Association achieved another victory in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 2  when President Bush signed into law the 2009 Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Bill. For the first time, Congress included $5 million in the bill to fund the ALS Research Program (ALSRP) at DOD. The congressionally established program at the DOD is dedicated solely to ALS research, is the only ALS specific program at the DOD and is the only program focused on translational research with the goal of finding new treatments for ALS. > Read full story ALS Registry Act Signed by President President Bush signed the ALS Registry Act into law on October 8, which marks a major milestone in the fight against Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  The House of Representatives passed the ALS Registry Act (S. 1382) on September 26 following action by the U.S. Senate on September 23. The ALS Registry Act establishes the first ever national patient registry of people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, to be administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The registry will collect information leading to the cause, treatment and cure of the deadly neurological disease that took the life of baseball legend Lou Gehrig in 1941. > Read full story