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CONTACT CONGRESS TO HELP DECLARE NOVEMBER 2005 NATIONAL PANCREATIC CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
PanCAN needs help to influence the United States House of Representatives to declare November as National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Under a new rule this year, the House Government Affairs Committee now requires a minimum of 50 Representatives to co-sponsor a resolution before it can be approved by the Committee and then, in turn, by the full House.
On May 12, at the urging of Pennsylvania Team Hope Coordinator Bob Hammen, Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA-19) introduced House Resolution 276 (H.Res. 276) to declare November 2005 as National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. PanCAN supporters now must rise to the challenge to contact as many Representatives as possible so that at least 50 additional Members will co-sponsor this resolution.
For the past three years, PanCAN has been able to use this Congressional designation each November to educate the public, medical professionals, patients and families about pancreatic cancer. At the same time, this designation has also allowed the organization to promote its services and resources. PanCAN’s November campaign has grown significantly each year and the campaign will continue to move forward in these efforts with the help of the PanCAN supporters.
With 435 Representatives in Congress and tens of thousands of PanCAN members across the nation, this challenge is seen as an opportunity. By asking Congressmen and Congresswomen to co-sponsors the resolution, PanCAN also has the opportunity to educate these national policy makers about pancreatic cancer and the fact that it remains under-funded while retaining the highest fatality rate of all cancers.
CURRENT CO-SPONSORS FOR H.RES. 276: (listed alphabetically by last name:
- Rep. J. Gresham Barrett (R-SC-3)
- Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-CA-28)
- Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL-13)
- Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY-24)
- Rep. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam)
- Rep. Robert A. Brady (D-PA-1)
- Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-5)
- Rep. Donna M. Christensen (D-VI)
- Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY-7)
- Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7)
- Rep. Jim Davis (D-FL-11)
- Rep. Charles W. Dent (R-PA-15)
- Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL-16)
- Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ-7)
- Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL-13)
- Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18)
- Rep. Dale E. Kildee (D-MI-5)
- Rep. John “Randy” Kuhl (R-NY-29)
- Rep. John M. McHugh (R-NY-23)
- Rep. Michael R. McNulty (D-NY-21)
- Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS-3)
- Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC-9)
- Rep. Major R. Owens (D-NY-11)
- Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-NJ-10)
- Rep. Adam H. Putnam (R-FL-12)
- Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-34)
- Rep. John E. Sweeny (R-NY-20)
- Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA-30)
- Rep. Robert I. Wexler (D-FL-19)
- Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC-2)
- Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-VA-10)
By writing or calling your Representative you can do your part to help designate November 2005 as National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Follow these simple steps:
WRITING OR E-MAILING CONGRESS:
- Look up your U.S. Representative on www.house.gov. Note the Representative’s e-mail address or fax number to transmit your letter.
- Review the Co-Sponsor list below to see if your Representative has not yet signed on to support H.Res. 276.
- Access the draft PanCAN support letter.
- Add the name and address of your U.S. Representative, as well as your full name and home address.
- If time permits, add some personal information about how pancreatic cancer has touched your life.
- Attach a copy of Pancreatic Cancer Facts for 2005 to your letter and a copy of the “Dear Colleague” (coming soon) letter that Rep. Platts has sent to his colleagues in Congress urging their support for H.Res. 276.
- For quickest delivery, E-mail or Fax the letter to your U.S. Representative in Washington, D.C.
- Send a copy of the letter to PanCAN c/o Julie Pawelczyk, PanCAN’s Director of Federal Affairs. This allows me to then call the legislative aides in each Congressional office to confirm whether the Representative was able to co-sponsor H.Res. 276. (You can fax the letter to (202) 318-2415, or e-mail it to jpawe...@pancan.org.)
CALLING CONGRESS:
If you do not have the time or resources to send written correspondence to your U.S. Representative, please refer to the prepared “Talking Points” in support of H.Res. 276 and call your Congressman or Congresswoman’s local or Washington, D.C. office to urge that he or she co-sponsor this House Resolution.
- Look up your U.S. Representative on www.house.gov and note your Representative’s phone number(s). Review the Co-Sponsor list below to see if your Representative has not yet signed on to support H.Res. 276.
- Access PanCAN “Talking Points for Calls to Congress in Support of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.”
- Call your Representative’s local office OR his or her Washington, D.C. office.
- Speak to the receptionist and utilize the Talking Points to identify yourself as a constituent and seek the Representative’s support for H.Res. 276.
- Contact PanCAN c/o Julie Pawelczyk, PanCAN’s Director of Federal Affairs via e-mail jpawe...@pancan.org to let me know a) your name; b) the name of your representative; and c) the date you called to urge his or her support for H.Res. 276.
Please note that this Resolution is limited to the jurisdiction of the U.S. House of Representatives. For this reason, H.Res. 276 is not being considered in the U.S. Senate and thus PanCAN members do not need to contact their U.S. Senators to support this measure.
If you have any questions or comments about writing the Representative in Congress, please contact Julie Pawelczyk at (202) 431-0599, or at jpawe...@pancan.org.
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