PI Action alerts & updates ... 2004

Your Senators Can Help SAVE ADAP!!

Urge Them to Sign Bipartisan Senate “Dear Colleague” Letter!
Background:

Four U.S. Senators have authored a very powerful bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter in support of providing badly needed fiscal relief to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). The letter is co-authored by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Gordon Smith (R-OR), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

Not only does this letter ask for a $217 million increase for ADAP for the next fiscal year, but it also supports an immediate emergency supplemental increase of $122 million to help deal with the current ADAP crisis. It was recently reported that there are nearly 1,300 people on ADAP waiting lists around the country and this emergency funding would go a long way in helping address the treatment access crisis.

If enough Senators sign this letter, we have a real chance of getting some emergency money for this lifesaving program. You can help make this happen by urging your two U.S. Senators to sign on!

How you can help:
Please call your U.S. Senator's office as soon as possible. Ask to speak to the legislative aide who handles HIV/AIDS and healthcare issues. Whether you speak to that person live or leave a message, tell him/her:

Sample message:

“My name is ___________ and I'm a constituent living in (your state). I'm calling to urge Senator______________ to sign a bipartisan letter by Senators Bingaman, Durbin, Smith, and Snowe, that calls for an emergency supplemental appropriation for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, and adequate funding for that program in Fiscal Year 2005. This program is facing a fiscal crisis, with nearly 1,300 on waiting lists for lifesaving drugs across the country. I strongly urge Senator______________ to sign this letter and help save ADAP.”

If you speak directly to the legislative aide, ask when you can expect to know whether or not the Senator will sign this letter. Then call back after that date to follow up. This letter is extremely important and our Senators need to know that their constituents are paying attention.

You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Congressional switchboard toll-free at 1-800-839-5276. You'll need to know who your Senators are in advance. If you don't know who represents you, go to www.vote-smart.org.

As of May 18, the following Senators have signed this letter. If you live in their state, please call and thank them for their leadership.

Senators
Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
Maria Cantwell (D-WA),
Jon Corzine (D-NJ),
Tom Daschle (D-SD),
Ted Kennedy (D-MA),
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ),
Patty Murray (D-WA),
Mark Pryor (D-AR),
Charles Schumer (D-NY),
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

If you need a copy of the letter, go to www.atac-usa.org.

Thank you for taking the time to make your voice heard on this important issue!

The Save ADAP Committee is a Working Group of the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC), a national coalition of AIDS treatment activists and policy advocates. Working in conjunction with ADAP clients and service providers on the grassroots level, Save ADAP aims to ensure adequate funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. For more information go to: www.atac-usa.org/adap.html. To receive SAVE ADAP Alerts via email, send an email to saveadap@hotmail.com with “subscribe” in the subject field.