As you have probably already heard in the news, Congress plans to pass a Continuing Resolution that will expire on February 8th, rather than the omnibus spending bill they had planned to finalize by the end of this Congress. A Continuing Resolution does not permit other, new items to be tacked on, meaning the LTA cannot be included.
While we are deeply disappointed that Congress failed to take action on the LTA this Congress, we are also gratified and emboldened by the progress we made. An upcoming Newsletter will contain a summary of those gains – many of which will carry on into the new Congress and go beyond our exceptional amount of bipartisan
cosponsorship support. But, we have one last action item first!
Please make a final round of calls today or tomorrow to our four Congressional champions who will be returning to Congress next year. As previously noted, it is very much in our favor that Senator Grassley will be the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee next year, and your calls to his office these past weeks have been especially valuable.
* Senate Finance Committee incoming Chair & current LTA Co-lead, Senator Chuck Grassley: 202-224-3744
* Senate Finance Committee & current LTA Lead Sponsor, Senator Maria Cantwell: 202-224-3441
* House Energy and Commerce Committee & current LTA Co-lead, Representative Jan Schakowsky: 202-225-2111
* House Way and Means Committee & current LTA Co-lead, Representative Earl Blumenauer: 202-225-4811
Phone Script-
“I’m calling to thank [Senator/Representative NAME] for being a champion of the Lymphedema Treatment Act. While I am disappointed that this bill was not passed during this Congress, I appreciate your office’s support and hope your boss will do everything possible to ensure that the Lymphedema Treatment Act is passed in the next Congress. [Option to add a few sentences about why this bill is important to you.]”
Thank you so much for your support and advocacy. On behalf of everyone at the Lymphedema Advocacy Group, we wish you and your loved ones all the best this holiday season!
Heather Ferguson
Founder & Executive Director
Lymphedema Advocacy Group
LymphedemaTreatmentAct.org
