NOFAS Action Alert

From the
National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS)
January 12, 2012

Subject: Outreach to United States Senate staff members regarding original co­sponsorship of upcoming Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) legislation.

Objectives: 1) To obtain 40 or more Senate co­sponsors for the soon­to­be introduced FASD bill; 2) Upon introduction of the bill, to ensure that it moves through the legislative process; 3) To ensure the passage and enactment of FASD legislation.

Summary: United States Senators Tim Johnson (D­SD) and Lisa Murkowski (R­AK) plan to introduce an FASD bill, the Advancing FASD Research, Prevention, and Services Act, in late January or early February 2012. The legislation will propose to reauthorize the existing FASD activities at agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (FASD Center for Excellence), and direct the federal Departments of Education and Justice to establish FASD education and training initiatives.

Once introduced, active and prompt consideration of the bill is dependent on the number of Senate offices supporting the legislation by serving as co­sponsors. The greater the number of co-sponsors, the greater the momentum and imperative for moving the bill through the legislative process.

Beyond passage of the bill, another critical benefit of increased visibility of FASD on Capitol Hill is to help preserve the existing funding appropriated for FASD in the face of deep, across the board cuts in federal spending.

NOFAS is talking with the Congressional Caucus on FASD and committee staff about a companion FASD bill in the United States House of Representatives. NOFAS will report on the prospects for a House bill as plans become known.

Requested Action: By January 22, 2012, NOFAS urges FASD advocates to e­mail the designated health staff of your two U.S. senators urging the senator to co­sponsor the FASD bill. The messages to the staff members may be identical, but they should be sent separately with personalized salutations.

How to Submit Your Emails to Senate Staff:

1. Search the Excel spreadsheet for the staff members in the offices of your two senators.
2. Draft an email message to each of the two staff members (see suggestions for content below);
3. Separately, send your email messages by January, 22, 2012;
4. Forward a copy of your message(s) or send an email indicating the staff member(s) to whom you have sent a message to Tom Donaldson at NOFAS at donaldson@nofas.org, so National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – January 12, 2012 so that during NOFAS meetings with staff members your advocacy for co-sponsorship of the FASD bill may be recognized; 4) Ask your colleagues and friends, and also, if applicable, your organization's members to also send emails;
5. Follow-up on your email messages during the week of January 23-27. NOFAS will make available a draft email and telephone script on January 23rd based on the latest plans for the bill introduction.

Content of Email: Regardless of the overall content of your email the following information should be included:

1. A greeting that includes the name of the staff member you are contacting (please do not address your message, "To whom it may concern" or use any other generic greeting);
2. An acknowledgement that you are a resident of the state that the senator represents;
3. A personal introduction including the recognition of any relationship you have with the senator or any current or past staff member in the senator's office;
4. A concise—preferably one sentence—statement that you are writing to ask that the senator co­sponsor the soon-to-be introduced FASD legislation;
5. A short one to two sentence description of FASD and the purpose of the bill;
6. Any facts or data that demonstrate the significance of FASD in the U.S. and/or your state;
7. A personal comment or vignette that illustrates why FASD is important to you and why it should be important to the senator. This will provide the justification for asking the senator to co­sponsor the FASD bill;
8. Instructions on how the staff member can get more information about the bill including plans for introduction. When contacting Democratic or Independent senators you will direct the staff member to Megan DesCamps in Senator Johnson's office. When contacting Republican senators you will direct the staff member to Amanda Makki in Senator Murkowski's office;
9. A closing comment that thanks the staff member for their consideration and pledges that you will follow-up.

Attachments to this Action Alert:

1. A PDF consisting of a contact list for U.S. Senate health legislative assistants;
2. A sample email message;
3. A summary of the proposed bill.

NOFAS Position: NOFAS believes that it is imperative for FASD to have as many allies as possible among elected officials and policymakers, at every level of government. Beyond the opportunity to advance the cause through the passage of important FASD legislation, the secondary benefits of advocacy outreach to U.S. Senate and House of Representative offices includes, 1) increased knowledge about FASD among congressional staff, 2) increased opportunity to preserve existing federal funding for FASD, and the possibility of securing an increase in funding, and 3) increased advocacy experience among FASD stakeholders.

For more information contact Brianna Montgomery at NOFAS at montgomery@nofas.org.