Dear TBFighters,
TB doesn’t take a summer vacation, and neither do we! Read on for three different ways to stay in that TBFighting groove: promoting the End TB Act, fighting for access to crucial HIV PrEP, and raising our voices against the politicization of crucial government funding. Or come to one of our advocacy sessions and do it with friends.
This email primarily covers topics related to US-based advocacy. Update your preferences if you’d like to opt out of US-focused emails.
Wake Up Your Senators! The End TB Now Act Just Dropped.
As you may remember, we had our first attempt at passing the End TB Now Act back in 2024. But we’re getting a second chance! The act was reintroduced to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in mid June by Senators Todd Young and Jeanne Shaheen. It proposes a multi-pronged approach to diagnose, treat, and prevent TB, including increased funding for vaccine and treatment research, public health programs, and global partnerships.
Right now the bill is in its infancy. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will make changes to the bill (aka mark it up) and then take a vote on it. If the vote passes, it should be put in front of the whole Senate for a vote. If that vote passes, it will then go through the whole process in the House.
This is a difficult journey, but we can help it succeed! It would be incredibly impactful to get your senators to cosponsor the legislation, showing the Foreign Relations Committee that they are in support.
The best way to convince your senators is to call them using the script below. If your Senator is on the Foreign Relations Committee (listed at the bottom of this email) it’s extra important that they hear from you!
Call Script:
Hello, my name is [NAME] from Zip Code [######] and I am asking Senator [NAME] to cosponsor the End TB Now Act of 2026 (that’s S.4751), which is currently before the Foreign Relations Committee. Tuberculosis is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing 1.25 million people each year. It is also completely curable, treatable, and preventable. The End TB Now Act puts science into action to help us get there. I am looking forward to hearing your response about this important issue. You can reach me at [Phone/Email]
Find email addresses and phone numbers for Senators here
Is There Balm in Gilead?
It's time to turn up the pressure on Gilead, the pharmaceutical company that makes Lenacapavir but is refusing to sell it to MSF! HIV is one of the three deadliest infectious diseases, and also a huge risk factor for active TB infection. Lenacapavir is an injectable form of PrEP which only has to be taken twice a year, so it’s crucial to get it from Gilead to MSF for patients all over the world.
We're using the hashtags #2Shots$40Everywhere and #Lenacapavir and tagging @gileadsciences @gilead.com to let them know that we need Lenacapavir now!
Want to join us? Get inspired by these TBFighter posts!
Time Sensitive: Public Comment Open until July 13th! Speak Out for Funding
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed a new rule which would politicize all federal grants. These grants fund things from local infrastructure improvements to keeping small businesses from going under to research funding for universities studying tuberculosis. If the rule goes forward, any of those grants could be denied or even cancelled after projects have already begun, just because the administration doesn't like it. Research funding has already been impacted due to accusations of “wokeness,” but this would make the politicization of the grant process permanent.
Luckily, there's something we can do: make comments on the rule. The public comment period ends at 11:59pm EDT on Monday, July 13th. That’s today, so act fast! Here are some resources from Defend Public Health on how to make effective comments:
Once you’ve submitted your comments, you can also contact your elected officials to ask that they write legislation to prevent this politicization. We have the power to save research grants!
DFTBA,
TBFighters
Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:
- Risch (R-ID), Chair
- Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member*
- Barrasso (R-WY)
- Booker (D-NJ)
- Coons (D-DE)
- Cornyn (R-TX)
- Cruz (R-TX)
- Curtis (R-UT)
- Daines (R-MT)
- Duckworth (D-IL)
- Hagerty (R-TN)
- Kaine (D-VA)
- Lee (R-UT)
- McCormick (R-PA)
- Merkley (D-OR)
- Murphy (D-CT)
- Paul (R-KY)
- Ricketts (R-NE)
- Rosen (D-NV)
- Schatz (D-HI)
- Scott (R-FL)
- Van Hollen (D-MD)
