17 SEPTEMBER 2020

Advocacy Days 2020

Event Background

Capitol Hill remains closed to visitors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Congress is still conducting its annual business and working on legislation and policy priorities. Many congressional offices are now working remotely and have largely adapted to responding to constituents with calls, e-mails, and virtual meetings. Right now, Congress is particularly interested in constituent priorities due to the upcoming November elections.

Senators and Representatives are currently deciding how much annual funding to provide towards medical research and public health priorities through the FY 2021 appropriations process, including resources for programs that support patients impacted by conditions of the liver. Lawmakers are also deciding which bills might be passed during the “lame duck” legislative session at the end of the year. Make your voice heard and ensure your legislators are working behalf of the liver advocacy community during this important time.

Take Action

Following the training webinar, please reach out to the congressional offices of your two Senators and one Representative to raise awareness and request timely support for key legislative efforts. To identify the contact information for your legislators, please visit www.senate.gov (and select your state from the list) and www.house.gov (and enter your zip code in the top right corner). To communicate with the “Health LA” for each office, you should call the 202 number and request their contact information or reach out to Jackson Rau of the Health & Medicine Counsel at rau@hmcw.org with your zip code so he can send the Health LA’s email address through to you.

After the training session, reach out to your Senators and Representatives by using your personal story to raise awareness and requesting their support on community priorities via email. You do not need to be an expert on civics to reach out, but rather discuss any of the issues below that are particularly important to you.

During the week of October 5th, we will have scheduled visits with the Senators and Representatives in your state. You will receive a calendar invite notifying you when the call will take place.. The meetings will be throughout the week and will depend on the Hill Staffers availability.