A huge thank-you to everyone who has made their phone calls! If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late. And if you tried but had trouble getting through or couldn’t leave a message, try going through the capitol switchboard – details on that are below.
The latest news out of Capitol Hill is that Congress plans to announce the contents of the year-end package, or at least portions of it, on Monday afternoon. We do not know if the health provisions have been decided on yet or not, so we should continue to call until the contents of the package are set in stone. We will keep you informed as information becomes available.
I won’t mince words – it will be devastating to have come so close and not see the bill signed into law this year. But I assure you, if that happens, we will be back next year, and will continue the fight for as long as it takes. My son who was born with lymphedema is 16-years-old now, and I will never stop working to ensure that he and all patients have insurance coverage for their vital compression garments.
The Senate offices we met with this week all told us our bill is definitely in the mix of those being considered for inclusion, and that our incredible 402-13 House vote and 74 Senate cosponsors really gives us an edge over many of the other bills! So let’s continue to do everything possible in these final days to (hopefully) ensure that we won’t need to reintroduce the bill again in the new Congress in January.
Let’s keep their phones ringing – call every day if you can! Some things are outside of our control in this process, but making sure your Senators know how important this bill is to you and millions of other lymphedema patients is something you have the power to do.
You can use our Senate Call Action Alert, the phone numbers below, or call the capitol switchboard and ask to be transferred to an office. When I couldn’t get through or even leave a message at one of my Senate offices, I tried it and it worked! I’ve heard the same from other advocates. Operators were working yesterday, on Saturday, so hopefully they are on Sundays too. The number is (202) 224-3121. When the operator answers, just tell them what office you want to be connected to.
Let’s do this!
Heather Ferguson
Founder & Executive Director
Lymphedema Advocacy Group
LymphedemaTreatmentAct.org
CALL SCRIPT & TIPS:
- “I am a constituent calling to ask that the Senate please include S.1315, the Lymphedema Treatment Act, in the year-end package. This bill was recently passed by the House with over 400 votes, and it has 74 cosponsors in the Senate. This issue is important to me because… ”
- If your Senator is a cosponsor on the list below, mention that and say thank you. REMEMBER – during our House vote, 76 members who were not cosponsors voted yes, but 5 who were cosponsors voted no, so outreach to every Senator is important, regardless of cosponsor status.
- If you are a constituent of Senator Cantwell (our lead sponsor) or Senator Grassley (our co-lead sponsor), it’s still very important that they hear from you. Thank them for their leadership on the bill and urge them to do everything possible to make sure it is passed this year!
- If you are leaving a voicemail, include your name and zip code. If you speak to a live person they will ask you for that.
AK-Senate: Lisa Murkowski, 202-224-6665 Cosponsor
AK-Senate: Dan Sullivan, 202-224-3004 Cosponsor
AL-Senate: Richard Shelby, 202-224-5744
AL-Senate: Tommy Tuberville, 202-224-4124
AR-Senate: Tom Cotton, 202- 224-2353 Cosponsor
AR-Senate: John Boozman, 202- 224-4843 Cosponsor
AZ-Senate: Kyrsten Sinema, 202- 224-4521 Cosponsor
AZ-Senate: Mark Kelly, 202-224-2235 Cosponsor
CA-Senate: Dianne Feinstein, 202-224-3841 Cosponsor
CA-Senate: Alex Padilla, 202- 224-3553 Cosponsor
CO-Senate: John Hickenlooper, 202-224-5941 Cosponsor
CO-Senate: Michael Bennet, 202-224-5852 Cosponsor
CT-Senate: Chris Murphy, 202-224-4041 Cosponsor
CT-Senate: Richard Blumenthal, 202- 224-2823 Cosponsor
DE-Senate: Chris Coons, 202-224-5042 Cosponsor
DE-Senate: Tom Carper, 202- 224-2441 Cosponsor
FL-Senate: Marco Rubio, 202- 224-3041 Cosponsor
FL-Senate: Rick Scott, 202- 224-5274 Cosponsor
GA-Senate: Jon Ossoff, 202-224-3521 Cosponsor
GA-Senate: Raphael Warnock, 202- 224-3643 Cosponsor
HI-Senate: Brian Schatz, 202- 224-3934 Cosponsor
HI-Senate: Mazie Hirono, 202-224-6361 Cosponsor
IA-Senate: Joni Ernst, 202-224-3254 Cosponsor
IA-Senate: Chuck Grassley, 202-224-3744 Co-lead Sponsor
ID-Senate: Jim Risch, 202-224-2752
ID-Senate: Mike Crapo, 202-224-6142
IL-Senate: Dick Durbin, 202-224-2152 Cosponsor
IL-Senate: Tammy Duckworth, 202-224-2854 Cosponsor
IN-Senate: Todd Young, 202-224-5623 Cosponsor
IN-Senate: Mike Braun, 202-224-4814
KS-Senate: Roger Marshall, 202-224-4774 Cosponsor
KS-Senate: Jerry Moran, 202-224-6521 Cosponsor
KY-Senate: Rand Paul, 202-224-4343
KY-Senate: Mitch McConnell, 202-224-2541
LA-Senate: Bill Cassidy, 202-224-5824 Cosponsor
LA-Senate: John Kennedy, 202-224-4623
MA-Senate: Elizabeth Warren, 202-224-4543 Cosponsor
MA-Senate: Ed Markey, 202-224-2742 Cosponsor
MD-Senate: Chris Van Hollen, 202-224-4654 Cosponsor
MD-Senate: Ben Cardin, 202-224-4524 Cosponsor
ME-Senate: Susan Collins, 202-224-2523 Cosponsor
ME-Senate: Angus King, 202-224-5344 Cosponsor
MI-Senate: Gary Peters, 202-224-6221 Cosponsor
MI-Senate: Debbie Stabenow, 202-224-4822 Cosponsor
MN-Senate: Tina Smith, 202-224-5641 Cosponsor
MN-Senate: Amy Klobuchar, 202-224-3244 Cosponsor
MO-Senate: Josh Hawley, 202-224-6154 Cosponsor
MO-Senate: Roy Blunt, 202-224-5721 Cosponsor
MS-Senate: Cindy Hyde-Smith, 202-224-5054 Cosponsor
MS-Senate: Roger Wicker, 202-224-6253 Cosponsor
MT-Senate: Steve Daines, 202-224-2651 Cosponsor
MT-Senate: Jon Tester, 202-224-2644 Cosponsor
NC-Senate: Richard Burr, 202-224-3154
NC-Senate: Thom Tillis, 202-224-6342 Cosponsor
ND-Senate: Kevin Cramer, 202-224-2043 Cosponsor
ND-Senate: John Hoeven, 202-224-2551 Cosponsor
NE-Senate: Deb Fischer, 202-224-6551 Cosponsor
NE-Senate: Ben Sasse, 202-224-4224
NH-Senate: Jeanne Shaheen, 202-224-2841 Cosponsor
NH-Senate: Margaret Wood Hassan, 202-224-3324 Cosponsor
NJ-Senate: Cory Booker, 202-224-3224 Cosponsor
NJ-Senate: Bob Menendez, 202-224-4744 Cosponsor
NM-Senate: Ben Ray Lujan, 202-224-6621 Cosponsor
NM-Senate: Martin Heinrich, 202-224-5521 Cosponsor
NV-Senate: Jacky Rosen, 202-224-6244 Cosponsor
NV-Senate: Catherine Cortez Masto, 202-224-3542 Cosponsor
NY-Senate: Kirsten Gillibrand, 202-224-4451 Cosponsor
NY-Senate: Chuck Schumer, 202-224-6542 Cosponsor
OH-Senate: Sherrod Brown, 202-224-2315 Cosponsor
OH-Senate: Rob Portman, 202-224-3353
OK-Senate: Jim Inhofe, 202-224-4721 Cosponsor
OK-Senate: James Lankford, 202-224-5754 Cosponsor
OR-Senate: Jeff Merkley, 202-224-3753 Cosponsor
OR-Senate: Ron Wyden, 202-224-5244
PA-Senate: Pat Toomey, 202-224-4254
PA-Senate: Bob Casey, 202-224-6324 Cosponsor
RI-Senate: Sheldon Whitehouse, 202-224-2921 Cosponsor
RI-Senate: Jack Reed, 202-224-4642 Cosponsor
SC-Senate: Tim Scott, 202-224-6121 Cosponsor
SC-Senate: Lindsey Graham, 202-224-5972 Cosponsor
SD-Senate: John Thune, 202-224-2321
SD-Senate: Mike Rounds, 202-224-5842 Cosponsor
TN-Senate: Marsha Blackburn, 202-224-3344
TN-Senate: Bill Hagerty, 202-224-4944
TX-Senate: Ted Cruz, 202-224-5922
TX-Senate: John Cornyn, 202-224-2934
UT-Senate: Mike Lee, 202-224-5444
UT-Senate: Mitt Romney, 202-224-5251
VA-Senate: Mark Warner, 202-224-2023 Cosponsor
VA-Senate: Tim Kaine, 202-224-4024
VT-Senate: Patrick Leahy, 202-224-4242 Cosponsor
VT-Senate: Bernie Sanders, 202-224-5141 Cosponsor
WA-Senate: Patty Murray, 202-224-2621 Cosponsor
WA-Senate: Maria Cantwell, 202-224-3441 Lead Sponsor
WI-Senate: Tammy Baldwin, 202-224-5653 Cosponsor
WI-Senate: Ron Johnson, 202-224-5323
WV-Senate: Shelley Moore Capito, 202-224-6472 Cosponsor
WV-Senate: Joe Manchin, 202-224-3954
WY-Senate: Cynthia Lummis, 202-224-3424
WY-Senate: John Barrasso, 202-224-6441
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