PACT in Action: Making a Difference in Washington
March 30, 2009
Your Vermont PACT member, Faye Tolar, visited Washington DC on March 9th and 10th and she’s back with a commitment from Senator Sanders to co-sponsor the Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative (S 343/HR 1077).
On March 9th and 10th, Faye along with 104 members of the AARC’s Political Advocacy Contact Team (PACT) from 46 states and the District of Columbia traveled to Capitol Hill to educate lawmakers on the Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative and other legislation important to your patients and your career. Three patient advocates accompanied the group.
"Your letters made an amazing difference," said Cheryl West, director of Government Affairs at the AARC. Over 10,000 letters from respiratory therapists and friends streamed in to Washington lawmakers in the weeks and days before the visit.
Have you done your letter yet? If not, you can still write. Go to the AARC’s Capitol Connection to learn more about the RT Medicare legislation, then go here for a menu of the types of e-mails you can send to your Senators and Representatives requesting support or saying thank you for your support.
Are you interested in being more active in political advocacy? At this time the VT/NHSRC is seeking two New Hampshire respiratory therapists to become members of the AARC Political Advocacy Contact Team and represent the NH congressional districts. If you are interested, you can contact Vermont PACT representative, Faye Tolar, to learn more about this exciting opportunity. Faye can be reached at ftolar@vtc.
