Both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives are in a two-week recess, from March 24 to April 8, returning to their home states during that time. ANCOR encourages its members to use the recess to educate their Members of Congress on IDD services in order to build or strengthen relationships with them. This is a good time to explain what IDD services are, how they rely on policies Congress influences (including Medicaid) and what opportunities Congress has for action that would benefit supports and services for people with disabilities. This includes renewing the Money Follows the Person program, asking the Senate to not support a Senate version of the House-passed HR 620, and urging the Bureau of Labor Statistics to gather data specific to Direct Support Professionals.
If you do not know who your Members of Congress are, the ANCOR Amplifier’s “Find Your Elected Official” tool will identify them for you. Look to the right side of the page for the tool.
Ideas for outreach include:
Signing up for your Member of Congress’ newsletters to learn of meet and greets, town halls or other such events at which they will be present;
Scheduling an in-district meeting to explain what your services are and what issues you hope
Inviting the Members of Congress to come visit your agencies. Even if their event schedule is likely to be fairly full from election-year fundraising, some Members of Congress have shown willingness to tweak their schedule to fit in a visit if they will already be in the area for other events nearby.
If you wish for assistance in your outreach, from template meeting requests to bullet points for meetings, please reach out to Doris Parfaite-Claude, Federal Advocacy and Research Manager, at [email protected].
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