Below, please find a sample letter to send to your congressperson when asking them to support HR 2877.
-Phone calls are preferable; then fax.
-When calling a legislator, ask them to please support HR 2877, the Lyme bill sponsored by NY congressman Chris Smith.
-If they are a congressperson, ask them to co-sponsor
-If you call a senator, ask them to support a companion bill with similar language in the Senate
Go to http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ for your congressmen.
The following sample letter was provided by CALDA, http://calda.intranets.com/
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Dear Congressman:
I hope you will consider signing on as a cosponsor to HR 2877 (Smith), the ALERT Act for Lyme Education and Research and Other Tick-Borne Diseases. The Smith bill focuses on research but also contains an effective advisory committee that will have input into the expenditure of the monies and provide the Lyme community a strong public voice and balanced scientific viewpoint in regard to tick-borne diseases in Washington, DC. The committee will include a selection of doctors and scientists who support chronic Lyme disease and also patients and representatives from patient advocacy groups. The new bill will:
-Increase the amount of Lyme research funding available by $100 million over 5 years.
-Ensure mandatory research goals, better surveillance and improved prevention programs.
-Ensure that the committee is balanced & represents diversity of scientific viewpoints on issues.
-Provide for outcomes research, including treatment studies.
-Provide for National Academies of Science, Institute of Medicine, to study chronic Lyme disease including: assessment of empirical evidence of treating physicians and published peer-review, and assessment of treatment guidelines, e.g., Infectious Diseases Society of America and International Lyme & Associated Diseases Society, and their acceptance and utilization.
The International Lyme & Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), a professional medical society whose members are knowledgeable in treating Lyme disease and are published in the field, support the bill.
The national non-profit Lyme Disease Association and 73 Lyme disease organizations nationwide are supporting the bill. Nationally acclaimed authors including Amy Tan also support the bill. See www.LymeDiseaseAssociation.org for details.
Many of my friends and family have Lyme disease and it is a huge problem in our state of ____________. We ask for your support now. Please contact Cong. Smith's office at 202 225 3765 with questions or to sign on. I ask that you do this today.
Thank you for your time.