September 13, 2006
- Day 1 - Week 24 - Don't Just Sit There-----Lobby!
Greetings, friends of Peter and Katy! You may recall
that a week or so ago, I wrote about an impending
meeting with USC undergraduates in which I intended
to take on the task of giving them the "inside
scoop" on how to get your Congressional
Representative or Senator to DO something. In
summary form, I offered you some tips on how you
might go about doing something from your very own
home. I'd like to follow that up today with
something very specific that you may want to test
your skills as a lobbyist. I am referring to a bill
that was introduced in the Congress last spring by
Representative Roger Wicker, a Republican
Congressman from Mississippi. The bill is entitled
"Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life
Act of 2006 (HR 5390)". The bill seeks to allocate
$56 million in 2007 within increasing levels of
funding to continue through the year 2011 for the
purpose of expanding research regarding rates and
causes of cancer survivorship. The bill would also
create a division in the National Institutes of
Health that would be dedicated to expanding and
monitoring research regarding cancer survivorship.
Research would emphasize and evaluate various models
of care for survivors of cancer. In addition, the
bill would expand and update the National
Comprehensive Cancer Control Program which provides
grants to reduce cancer incidence, morbidity and
mortality through prevention, early detection,
treatment, rehabilitation, and quality of life
interventions. Those grants go out to a wide variety
of applicants, including community based programs,
nonprofit organizations, universities, research
centers, and the like. Funds allocated under this
bill would also be directed toward evaluation of the
quality of cancer care and developing information to
inform patients and the public about treatment and
survivorship. Finally, the bill would create a
"National Commission on Cancer Survivorship"----a
powerful, high level commission of 15 members
appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to oversee and monitor cancer survivorship
programs and to recommend options to improve care
given to cancer survivors.
Now, I'm no expert in this field, but I do know how
Washington works. The name of the game is funding.
The more funding you get, the better the chances of
actually getting something done. I couldn't possibly
guarantee that the initiatives included in HR 5390
will cause a radical improvement in care and
treatment of cancer survivors. I'm guessing,
however, the $50 million a year (in addition to the
millions of $$$ from many sources) won't hurt.
The bill has been referred to the Health
Subcommittee on the House Energy and Commerce
Committee where no action has been taken as yet. The
Subcommittee must report the bill to the full
committee and thence to the House floor if any
action is to be taken this year. I haven't done the
necessary homework here, but the question is, "what
are the chances of getting the subcommittee and
committee to report the bill out during this session
of Congress?" In order to find out the answer to
that question, I would call Representative Wicker's
office at (202) 225-4306 and ask to speak to the
Legislative Assistant for Health Affairs. Once
connected, I'd ask for the status of the bill and
any guidance they might offer about how to move the
bill forward.
Regardless of the answer to that question, I would
review the list of cosponsors of the bill to
determine whether or not my Representative is on
this bill. If so, great! If not, call (202) 224-3121
and ask to be connected to that office. When you are
connected, again, ask for the Legislative Assistant
for Health Affairs. If you get the opportunity to
talk directly, be ready to tell them about the bill
and request that they recommend to his or her boss
that he/she should add their name as a cosponsor. In
general, the more cosponsors, the
better----particularly if they come from BOTH sides
of the aisle.
By the way, you may recognize a name or two from the
list of other members of that subcommittee:
Republicans include: Deal (Chairman) Hall,
Bilirakis, Upton, Gillmor, Norwood, Cubin, Shimkus,
Shadegg, Pickering, Buyer, Pitts, Bono, Ferguson,
Rogers, Myrick, and Burgess. Democrats include:
Brown (Ranking Member) Waxman, Towns, Pallone,
Gordon, Rush, Eshoo, Green, Strickland, Degette,
Capps, Allen, Davis, Baldwin.
I notice that Henry Waxman is on that subcommittee.
He's the Representative from my district here in
California. I'll give his Leg Assistant for Health
Affairs a call and see if I can get him to agree to
cosponsor the bill. Every little bit helps.
So there's a little guide to armchair lobbying for a
good cause today. Please contact me at
wglass@usc.edu
if you have any questions you'd like to ask about
this process. (Oh, in case I didn't tell you, I
worked for the Congress for 17 years........) Jump
in! Make democracy work for you and for us!!!!!!
Back to Week
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