Meet with Your Lawmakers this August

Our Goal

We must continue advocating for our top legislative priorities for 2010: to create lifelong coverage for immunosuppressive drugs under Medicare; and, to increase research funding for PKD at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense. In addition, the August recess visits provide a perfect opportunity to continue our efforts to raise awareness of PKD among members of Congress.

Timeframe

The 2010 August recess is scheduled for August 2 – September 10 in the U.S. House of Representatives and August 9 – September 10 in the U.S. Senate. Please work to schedule your meetings during this timeframe.

Your Role and Responsibility

Now is the time to begin pulling a small group of PKD Champions from your chapter together for your visits. In July, the group should designate one person to reach out to your Senators and Representative(s)’ offices to schedule the August meetings. Coordination within your chapter and other chapters within your state is crucial!
 

Training Conference Calls

The PKD Foundation will host two teleconference training calls to help guide you through the process to setting up a meeting, provide you with materials to leave behind with your legislator, along with more specific details on our requests. You can choose from two of the dates listed below:

• Tuesday July 13: 3 pm Eastern, 2 pm Central, 1 pm Mountain, 12 pm Pacific
• Wednesday July 14: 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central, 6 pm Mountain, 5 pm Pacific
   

Please RSVP to kimberlyc@pkdcure.org if you are interested in participating in the training call. An agenda and supporting materials will be provided a week or two prior to the calls.

Materials Available to Help You

The PKD Foundation created a number of documents to help you schedule and conduct your August recess visits. Those materials include:

• August Recess Visit Flyer
• How to Schedule a Meeting with a Member of Congress;
• Helpful Tips for Visiting a Congressional Office;
• Template Thank You Letters for the House and Senate;
• Legislative Issues Talking Points;
• 2010 Legislative Agenda; and
• Additional materials that can be downloaded, printed and taken with you to your meetings.
  
  Visit THOMAS, a searchable database on Federal legislation, to learn more about how your members of Congress stand on specific bills and policies.

Letting Us Know

Thank you very much for taking the time to be a PKD Champion! We encourage you to let us know when your meetings are scheduled, with whom, and how they went. Please send your feedback and follow up to pkdadvocacy@pkdcure.org.

** For additional information or help please contact Kim Cantor, Vice President of Government Relations at kimberlyc@pkdcure.org or at (202) 674-4005.

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