On Thursday, April 29, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Advocacy Alliance hosted its annual National Lobby Day on Capitol Hill. The event brought together more than 200 Komen Affiliate representatives from 85 different Affiliates across the country. In all, Komen Advocates visited more than 400 Congressional offices on both sides of the Capitol.
The morning began with a rally featuring six U.S. Representatives, including Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Steve Israel (D-NY), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Sue Myrick (R-NC) and Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL).
Following the rally Komen advocates walked door-to-door meeting with their elected officials, asking them among other things to sign on to a “Dear Colleague” letter addressed to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, asking her to guarantee women 40-49 will have access to mammography under the new health care law and to issue a report detailing the state of the government’s investment in developing new breast cancer screening technologies. As a result, 35 Senators and 90 Representatives signed the letter.
The House letter can be viewed here .
The Senate letter can be viewed here .
The meetings were also a great opportunity to educate Congress about what Susan G. Komen for the Cure does in their communities. Each office received a 1-pager summarizing Komen’s impact in their state.
The following day, Secretary Sebelius deliver well-received remarks to our Advocates before they returned home. Her remarks can be viewed here . Sec. Sebelius praised Susan G. Komen for the Cure and our founder, Nancy Brinker, and talked about the challenges ahead in implementing the new health care law. She added that she plans on running in the Global Race with Team HHS!
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