Three minutes, three calls, five people ~ Calling Congress Jan. 26/27

Tomorrow this begins….and this task is equal parts important and ‘easy’. It can seem a bit intimidating, but we all know the problem and how important this is. Our NUMBERS matter.

Three Minutes

It should take about 3 minutes of speaking time, one minute for each call. There is info, scripts, and even graphics to help you (see links below).

Three Calls

One call to each of your U.S. Senators, and one call to your representative in the U.S. House.
Visit the following link to find contact information for Congress:
www.contactingthecongress.org/

Scripts and additional links below.

Five People

We increase our impact exponentially if we REACH out to others to make calls. Which can take even less time than the calls themselves. You can share the request via emails, social media, or word of mouth (links below). But making direct contact with AT LEAST five people you trust to help will help ensure follow through and let at least those five know how important this is to you.

***For all of us under-represented and under-recognized states, STEP THREE IS CRUCIAL! We are here and the point of this is to show it as we make this request.

Why We Are Calling:

This call for action is based upon the failures of CDC in the handling of public policy on Lyme disease, including preferential treatment of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), a private organization; failure to provide medical providers and patients with ALL the available information on diagnosis and treatment; extensive under-reporting of the disease; and conflicts of interest and violations of ethics rules.

Background and Links

This section provides the very basics, with links for further reading. In the next 24 hours, I will be adding a more detailed background post for those interested, and tabs at the top of this website for easy access to resources.

Calling Congress – Address Lyme and End CDC Preferential Treatment of IDSA

Please join the Facebook event, Lyme Patients Call on Congress, if you have not already. From the Event Page (please visit and join to read more):

Lyme patients and patient advocates from around the United States will join together and call on Congress to take decisive action to address the out of control epidemic of Lyme disease and related tick-borne illnesses.

REQUESTED ACTION
Make three phone calls: one call to each of your U.S. Senators, and one call to your representative in the U.S. House.
Visit the following link to find contact information for Congress:
www.contactingthecongress.org/

The event page provides additional information in the group descriptions, as well as via posts on the page, including a sample email applicable to patients and non-patients (contains many useful details), twitter examples, social media and sharing resources, scripts and instructions.

The basic script template from the page:

ONE MINUTE SCRIPT
1. I am a constituent of [senator or representative name] and I would like to register my concern on an important issue.

2. I’m concerned about CDC’s handling of the Lyme disease epidemic and CDC’s preferential treatment of a private organization and other conflicts of interest.

[It’s ok to add a personal comment by mentioning that you, yourself, a family member or friend has Lyme disease. Try to keep the call short, though, so that others can get through.]

3. I request that [senator or representative name] review this matter and ensure that CDC’s Lyme disease program is subject to proper Congressional oversight.

4. [Optional for calls to senators]
If you would like to register support for the Lyme bill that’s pending in the Senate (S.1503, The Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2016), include the statement:

Please ask [senator name] to co-sponsor bill S. 1503.

5. I would appreciate a reply once [senator or representative name] has had a chance to look into this matter.

6. Thank you.

Important Links

Additional Links will be available in subsequent posts and tabs, as noted earlier.