Monthly Action Plan
We Are Everywhere
and we’re not going away...
A-CHAMP & BEAT IOWA Advocates Dana Halvorson, Robyn
Halvorson, Lujene Clark, Bobbie Manning and Meg Oberrauter
meet with Senator Tom Harkin on Capitol Hill
after the "Mercury Generation March" – April 6, 2006
A-CHAMP CALL TO ACTION FOR AUGUST
Part of our "We Are Everywhere
and we're not going away..."
National Political Action Organizing Campaign
In this election year when we have an excellent opportunity to be heard by our Representatives regarding the needs of our children.
Congress is in recess for the month of August. Members of Congress usually meet with their constituents in their home District. Now is the time to schedule appointments with your representatives and when you meet, if possible, bring your child and other family members with you.
Make the call now. You may need to fax a request. The more parents/grandparents scheduling appointments the better. Ten appointments with constituents who discuss their child's mercury-induced autism will make an impression. If your Representative is unavailable to meet with you ask to meet with the Chief of Staff, District Director or senior advisor. Get an email address for person with whom you will continue to communicate. To obtain contact information for your Congressional representatives Click Here or paste this url into your browser: http://capwiz.com/a-champ/dbq/officials/
If your Representative cannot meet in August, ask for the first available date to meet at a later time. Request your representative's schedule or attend a publlic event when your Representative is speaking and approach your Congressman there.
For general guidelines for communicating with your representatives and staff read the one page 'Tips for Talking with Legislators" prepared by professional lobbyist and A-CHAMP State Coordinator Laura Cellini. You can download this document from our We Are Everywhere Political Action Campaign Web Pages by clicking HERE or pasting this url http://tinyurl.com/zwvza into your browser.
What to bring to your meeting with your Congressional Representative:
*MAKE your meeting PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL AND PRACTICAL
*Prepare a packet of information for your representative to review. Make sure your contact information is inside the fold of the packet binder.
*Include the following (most of the referenced documents are available through links on the A-CHAMP web site HERE or at www.a champ.org/weareeverywheredocuments.html):
•Photograph of your child. Include your child's name and date of birth;
•Your child's Mercury Chart (urine toxicology report showing how much mercury your child has excreted upon chelation challenge);
•CDC/AAP Autism A.L.A.R.M. –Download from HERE or www.a-champ.org/weareeverywheredocuments.html;
•Your state's autism (IDEA) statistics available by Download HERE or http://www.fightingautism.org/idea/autism-prevalence-report.php (Thank You "Fighting Autism" – Pittsburgh, Pa.);
•Local news articles if you have them;
•Printout of slides showing Lifetime Costs of Caring for a Disabled Download from HERE or www.a-champ.org/weareeverywheredocuments.html;
•HR 5887 - "The Vaccine Safety Confidence Assurance Act of 2006" Download from HERE or www.a-champ.org/weareeverywheredocuments.html;
•H.R. 5940 - "The Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2006" - Download from HERE or www.a-champ.org/weareeverywheredocuments.html;
•H.R. 881/S. 1422 The Mercury-Free Vaccines Act Download from HERE or www.a-champ.org/weareeverywheredocuments.html;
•Full page newspaper ads by Generation Rescue
Download from HERE or http://www.generationrescue.org/ (Thank you Generation Rescue)
TALKING POINTS:
•You are the best advocate for your child. Briefly tell your Representative how autism has affected your child, your family and your life. Don't spend a lot of time doing this, about 5 minutes, because your time is limited. There are limitations to what your Representative can do to help you personally and you want to focus on what you want your Representative to do and what he/she is capable of doing to help you and your child.
•Ask your Representative if they think they have done all within their power to help autistic children and their families.
•Then tell your Congressman/Senator what you want him/her to do for your child and our community.
•These are the 'asks'. Tell your representative you want him or her to sign on as co-sponsor to the following bills:
•Support HR 5887 - The Vaccine Safety Confidence Assurance Act of 2006 Sponsors: Weldon/Maloney
•Support HR 5940 - The Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2006
Sponsors: Maloney/Osborne
•Support HR 881 / S. 1422 The Mercury-Free Vaccines Act
•Try to get your representative to commit their support for these bills. If your representative has already signed on to The Mercury-Free Act, they are likely to support the other bills. To see if your representative is a co-sponsor on HR. 881 go HERE or
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR00881:@@@P
•Currently there are no co-sponsors in the Senate for S. 1422
•If your representative is not listed as a supporter of HR. 881 (House bill) or S. 1422 (Senate bill) you can ask why they are not supporting this bill...we know they have been asked in the past.
•Ask your representative if he or she thinks vaccines should be as safe as possible? If so, the Representative should support H.R. 5887.
•Ask your representative if he or she thinks it is important to determine the truth about the role vaccines may or may not contribute to the increased rates of autism? If so, the Representative should be a cosponsor of H.R. 5940.
•Ask your representative if he or she thinks children should be given mercury-containing vaccines? If not, they should be a co-sponsor of H.R. 881 or S. 1422. (You can remind them that both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry supported the removal of mercury from vaccines in 2004).
•Always be polite, passionate and respectful. Resist anger even if you feel it. It is unlikely you will get help from your representative if he/she feels they can't win your vote and you are against him/her from the get-go.
•Finally, remind your representative that our community represents a big special interest voting block that often crosses party lines to support candidates who support our children. 1 in 175 children have been diagnosed with autism, 1 in 6 children with a learning and/or behavioral disorder is a national emergency. We want their support and our issues to be a priority.
•For every child with mercury-induced autism there are parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, teachers, bus drivers and baby sitters. Potentially dozens of votes for each child and millions of votes for members who show their support and interest in our children.
•In conjunction with meeting or contacting your Representative on behalf of A-CHAMP we encourage you to participate as well in the National Autism Association's Putting a Facing on Autism Campaign. Please participate in NAA's web site at which NAA is asking you to post photos and comments about your meeting. You can go there by clicking HERE or at www.putafaceonautism.com. A-CHAMP and NAA stand for consistent substantive positions on most issues, with specific reference to the points and legislation outlined in this action-alert message. A-CHAMP supports a united "autism" community for the benefit of our vaccine-injured children.
After your meeting with your Representative let us know how you did by sending an email message to info@a-champ.org. You can continue to work with A-CHAMP as an A-CHAMP Advocate, a District Leader or as a State Coordinator. If you are interested in helping us fight for our kids contact John Gilmore at yogilmore@yahoo.com
We Are Everywhere and we're not going away...
Message Brought To You By A-CHAMP
Advocates for Children's Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning
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BE A-CHAMP FOR CHILDREN!
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Combating Autism Act Watch – the Community's Watchdog
"If You Don't Stand For Something, You Will Fall For Anything"
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows
– Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/subterranean.html
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of individuals to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has."
– Margaret Mead
