An Up "Hill" Battle: The Federal Parity Campaign

By: Sheila Van Pay, Federal Field Organizer

 

The Amputee Coalition has really dug in over the past few years in the fight for prosthetic parity, and 2008 proved to be the most successful year thus far. With the introduction of the Prosthetic Parity Act in both the House (March) and the Senate (September), the Amputee Coalition has built a strong foundation for our 2009 federal campaign.

The Amputee Coalition's advocacy department spends much of its time meeting with lawmakers, coordinating grassroots organizing events and keeping our members updated on our progress and upcoming opportunities to get involved. The staff started off 2008 by meeting with potential coalition partners to endorse the federal legislation, as well as meeting with a number of members of Congress to urge them to cosponsor the House and Senate bills.

The Amputee Coalition targeted legislators on the House and Senate committees through which the bill must pass before going to the floor for a vote: the House Committee on Education & Labor and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. We were able to obtain 29 cosponsors of House Resolution 5615. We had a tough time securing introduction of the Senate bill. We pushed through until the very end and were able to have it introduced in the final weeks of the session. Senate Bill 3517 ended up with seven cosponsors. All together, we gained the support of lawmakers in 21 states, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin. We also had strong bipartisan support.

To raise awareness about the need, create excitement about the effort and build support for federal legislation, the Amputee Coalition organized a “National Week of Action,” from April 26-May 2. With the help of excited, committed supporters, we were able to help coordinate community events, campus events and facility events. Participants held postcard drives, bake sales, lobby meetings and call-in days. In all, the National Week of Action consisted of 95 events in 89 cities in 39 states.

On June 11, 2008, the Amputee Coalition held its first annual Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Bob Filner (D-CA) attended the lobby day breakfast along with staff from several other offices. The sponsors spoke about their strong commitment to prosthetic parity. After the breakfast, more than 40 participants from 11 states met with their legislators to push for support for the Prosthetic Parity Act. The lobby day proved to be a huge success in obtaining additional cosponsors of the federal legislation. Due to the impact of last year's lobby day, the Amputee Coalition has decided to hold another lobby day on March 10, 2009.

In addition to the two large-scale events in 2008, the Amputee Coalition staff spent countless days on Capitol Hill lobbying on behalf of the bill. In July, Dr. Jeffrey Cain, one of the Amputee Coalition's board members and advocacy committee chair, participated in a full day of meetings with legislators to help gain additional support. A number of Amputee Coalition activists also set up meetings in the district offices to urge their elected officials to support this important piece of legislation. There were more than 20 in-district meetings, including Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Due to the large number of Amputee Coalition members and activists, the organization hopes to continue our success going into the 111th Congress. By the end of the year, we are looking to increase the number of coalition partners as well as to double the number of cosponsors on the federal bill. We will continue to work hard to cultivate support from members of the relevant committees and throughout the U.S. Congress. The Amputee Coalition staff, members and volunteers are also working to double the amount of in-district meetings in 2009 as well as to gain an additional five coalition partners to endorse the Prosthetic Parity Act.

Sheila Van Pay is the federal field organizer for the Amputee Coalition. To learn more about our congressional initiatives, contact her at federal@amputee-coalition.org or call 202/742-1886.