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IAC Express 2007 |
| Issue number 653: March 21, 2007 |
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Contents
of this Issue
Select a title to jump to the article. |
- Action
needed soon: Call your U.S. senators about signing the immunization
appropriations letter by Wednesday, April 4
- Action
needed soon: Call your U.S. representative about signing the immunization
appropriations letter by Friday, April 13
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| Abbreviations |
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AAFP, American Academy of Family Physicians; AAP,
American Academy of Pediatrics; ACIP, Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices; AMA, American Medical Association; CDC, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; IAC, Immunization
Action Coalition; MMWR, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; NCIRD,
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; NIVS, National
Influenza Vaccine Summit; VIS, Vaccine Information Statement; VPD,
vaccine-preventable disease; WHO, World Health Organization. |
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Issue 653: March 21, 2007 |
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1. |
Action needed soon: Call your U.S. senators about signing the immunization
appropriations letter by Wednesday, April 4
No government funds have been used to produce this article.
The 317 Coalition is requesting that people who
support the U.S. immunization program contact their U.S. senators and ask
them to sign on to a letter in support of increased funding for the 317
Program for federal Fiscal Year 2008 (FY 2008). The 317 Coalition is a
national network of 136 organizations that advocates for increased funding
for childhood, adolescent, and adult immunization programs.
The text of the coalition's request is reprinted below. The deadline for your
senators to sign on to the letter is Thursday, April 5, so you must contact
them before that date.
ACTION ALERT ON NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION FUNDING: We need your help!
BACKGROUND:
Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) have sent a "Dear
Colleague" letter to every member of the Senate asking them to sign
on to a letter to Senators Harkin and Specter, the leaders of the
Senate Appropriations Committee. The letter addressed to Senators
Harkin and Specter is requesting increased funding for the National
Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention—known as "Section 317" of the Public Health Service Act.
The more members of the Senate that sign on to the letter, the
better chance the 317 Program will receive increased funding in the
FY 2008 budget.
ACTION NEEDED TO CONTACT MEMBERS OF THE SENATE:
(1) Call your senators and ask them to sign on to the
appropriations letter by contacting Senators Reed's or Smith's
office.
(2) You should not contact Senators Reed, Smith, Harkin, or Specter
about this letter, since they are the members sending and receiving
the letter.
(3) Let them know why increased funding is necessary for your
organization in their city or state. Sample talking points are
below.
(4) Be sure they know the deadline to sign on to the letter is
Thursday, April 5.
(5) Feedback: If a senator's office indicates a willingness to sign
the letter, let us know by emailing 317@cgagroup.com so that we
can follow up.
(6) Forward this alert to your members and other organizations with
an interest in this program.
(7) The following are the senators who signed on to the letter last
year [IAC Express editor's note: Approximately 21 senators signed
last year's letter.]
CONTACTING A CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE:
(1) The U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 can connect you
with your senators. It is best to call the Washington Office, not
the local district office. If you don't know who your senators are,
you can go online to http://www.senate.gov and look them up by
entering your zip code.
(2) Ask to speak with the staff person who handles the Health and
Human Services Appropriations for the office (specifically the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]). The purpose of
your call is to ask your senator to sign on to the letter on CDC
immunization funding.
(3) When you reach the staffer, very briefly identify your
professional affiliation and work related to immunization.
SENATE TALKING POINTS:
- I am contacting you to ask that the senator sign on to a letter
that is currently being circulated by Senators Reed and Smith.
- The letter is addressed to Chairman Harkin and Ranking Republican
Specter on the Labor HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, and asks
for an increase in funding for the CDC immunization program so
that more underinsured children and adults can receive
recommended vaccinations.
- The letter asks that the 317 Program be funded at $802.5 million
in fiscal year 2008, which is an increase of approximately $295
million over the last fiscal year. The President's budget request
would cut the CDC immunization program in the appropriations bill
by $12 million. Currently the program receives about $519 million
in federal appropriations.
- These funds are awarded to states as grants to purchase
recommended childhood and adult vaccines and to provide support
for the infrastructure needed to deliver the vaccinations.
- (Add a sentence or two about your geographical location's need
for additional CDC immunization funding.)
- Your office should have received the "Dear Colleague" letter from
Senators Reed and Smith. It was sent out March 14. The closing
date for signing on to the letter addressed to Senators Harkin
and Specter is Thursday, April 5, 2007. I urge you to ask your
boss to sign this important letter to the Appropriations
Committee.
- I would be happy to fax or email a copy of the letter addressed
to Senators Harkin and Specter if that would be helpful. [IAC
Express editor's note: To access the letter, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org/action/senatedc_031507.pdf]
To visit the 317 Coalition website, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org
For legislative updates and other resources, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org/learnmore
If your organization would like to become a member of the 317
Coalition, contact Amy Souders, Cornerstone Government Affairs,
at asouders@cgagroup.com
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2. |
Action needed soon: Call your
U.S. representative about signing the immunization appropriations letter by
Friday, April 13
No government funds have been used to produce this article.
The 317 Coalition is requesting that people who
support the U.S.
immunization program contact their U.S. Congressional
representative and ask them to sign on to a letter in support of
increased funding for the 317 Program for federal Fiscal Year 2008
(FY 2008). The 317 Coalition is a national network of 136
organizations that advocates for increased funding for childhood,
adolescent, and adult immunization programs.
The text of the coalition's request is reprinted below. The
deadline for your representative to sign on to the letter is
Monday, April 16, so you must call them before that date.
ACTION ALERT ON NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION FUNDING: We need your help!
BACKGROUND:
Representatives Gene Green (D-TX) and John Shimkus (R-IL) have sent
a "Dear Colleague" letter to every member of the House of
Representatives asking them to sign on to a letter to
Representatives David Obey and James T. Walsh, the leaders of the
House Appropriations Committee. The letter addressed to
Representatives Obey and Walsh is requesting increased funding for
the National Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention—known as "Section 317" of the Public Health
Service Act.
The more members of the House of Representatives that sign on to
the letter, the better chance the 317 Program will receive
increased funding in the FY 2008 budget.
ACTION NEEDED TO CONTACT MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
(1) Call your representative in the House of Representatives and
ask them to sign on to the appropriations letter by contacting Rep.
Green's or Rep. Shimkus's office.
(2) You should not contact Representatives Green, Shimkus, Obey, or
Walsh about this letter, since they are the members sending and
receiving the letter. Also, do not contact Representatives Waxman,
McDermott, or Grijalva, as they have already signed on to the
letter.
(3) Let your representative know why increased funding is necessary
for your organization in their city or state. Sample talking points
are below.
(4) Be sure they know the deadline to sign on to the letter is
Monday, April 16.
(5) Feedback: If a representative's office indicates a willingness
to sign the letter, let us know by emailing 317@cgagroup.com so
that we can follow up.
(6) Forward this alert to your members and other organizations with
an interest in this program.
(7) The following are the representatives who signed on to the
letter last year [IAC Express editor's note: Approximately 66
representatives signed last year's letter.]
CONTACTING A CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE:
(1) The U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 can connect you
with your representative. It is best to call the Washington Office,
not the local district office. If you don't know who your
representative is, you can go online to http://www.house.gov and
look it up by entering your zip code.
(2) Ask to speak with the staff person who handles the Health and
Human Services Appropriations for the office (specifically the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]). The purpose of
your call is to ask your representative to sign on to the letter to
Representatives Obey and Walsh about CDC immunization funding.
(3) When you reach the staffer, very briefly identify your
professional affiliation and work related to immunization.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TALKING POINTS:
- I am contacting you to ask that the Congressman/Congresswoman
sign on to a letter that is currently being circulated by
Representatives Green and Shimkus.
- The letter is addressed to Chairman Obey and Ranking Republican
Walsh on the Labor HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, and asks for
an increase in funding for the CDC immunization program so that
more underinsured children and adults can receive recommended
vaccinations.
- The letter asks that the 317 Program be funded at $802.5 million
in fiscal year 2008, which is an increase of approximately $295
million over the last fiscal year. The President's budget request
would cut the CDC immunization program in the appropriations bill
by $12 million. Currently the program receives about $519 million
in federal appropriations.
- These funds are awarded to states as grants to purchase
recommended childhood and adult vaccines and to provide support
for the infrastructure needed to deliver the vaccinations.
- (Add a sentence or two about your geographical location's need
for additional CDC immunization funding.)
- Your office should have received the "Dear Colleague" letter from
Representatives Green and Shimkus. It was sent out March 12. The
closing date for signing on to the letter addressed to
Representatives Obey and Walsh is Monday, April 16, 2007. I urge
you to ask your boss to sign this important letter to the
Appropriations Committee.
- If you have questions or would like to sign the letter, please
contact Lantie Slenzak in Rep. Green's office at (202) 225-1688
or Mo Zilly in Rep. Shimkus' office at (202) 225-5271.
- I would be happy to fax or email a copy of both the "Dear
Colleague" letter and the letter to Representatives Obey and
Walsh if that would be helpful. [IAC Express editor's note: To
access the letters, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org/action/housedc_031507.pdf]
To visit the 317 Coalition website, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org
For legislative updates and other resources, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org/learnmore
If your organization would like to become a member of the 317
Coalition, contact Amy Souders, Cornerstone Government Affairs, at
asouders@cgagroup.com
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