Use the Phone on March 20 to Help Those Going to Capitol Hill
Posted by Dusty Weaver on March 16th, 2007
March 20, colon and rectal cancer advocates from around the country will be be on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC as a part of Call-on Congress. Those not making Congressional office visits can still get on the phone to Capitol Hill.
We want you to make three short phone calls — one to each Senator’s office and one to your Representative’s office — sometime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, March 20. It’s not hard — and it can make a world of difference for colorectal cancer research and screening funding. In other words, your call will help to save lives!
Below are step-by-step instructions and a script for what to say on March 20…
First, phone 1-202-224-3121. This is the Capitol Switchboard number for all Senate and House offices. Ask to be connected to Senator (or Representative) [give their last name and state, such as "Senator Schumer from New York"]. The switchboard will connect you, and a receptionist in that office will answer.
Remember to call between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.
You will repeat the instructions below for all three phone calls, one to each Senator and one to your Representative.
When connected, say:
“I am (first name) (last name) from (city/town) and I would like to speak with the staffperson who handles health issues. I wish to speak briefly to them about colorectal cancer funding.”
The receptionist will connect you either to the health staffperson or to their voicemail. Do not be discouraged if you get voicemail…still leave a message as if you had spoken with someone.
Precisely What to Say When You Phone, Tuesday, March 20:
“My name is (first name) (last name) and I am from (city/town). I’m calling today because of my concern that colorectal cancer has not received the funding it needs from Congress.” If you wish to say IN ONE SENTENCE what your connection is to colorectal cancer, do it here.
“I want to urge Senator / Representative (name to make colorectal cancer a priority for federal funding so that we can win the war against this dread disease. I need [him or her] to support a 6.7% increase at the National Cancer Institute in order to begin turning around the problem we have with decreasing research dollars for colorectal cancer. I also need [him or her] to support a $10 million increase to the Colorectal Cancer Screening, Education, and Outreach program at the Centers for Disease Control. By supporting this funding for NCI and CDC, lives will be saved!”
If you are speaking to a staffperson, ask if they believe “their boss” will support these necessary increases. Feel free to have a brief conversation with them before you end with, “I and colorectal cancer patients and families are counting on you. Thank you very much.”
If you leave a voicemail, end by giving your name (again), phone number, and email address and ask that they reply to you about whether “their boss” will be supporting these necessary increases. Close by saying, “I and colorectal cancer patients and families are counting on you. Thank you very much.”
You should repeat this procedure and this script until both of your Senators and your one Representative have been called.
When you have finished all three calls, let us know how it went by visiting this page on our website, fill out the form and submit.
Lynn Nyce
March 20, 2007 at 12:40pm
Left voicemail messages for health issue staffs of Senators Mikulski and Cardin and Rep Van Hollen. Montgomery Co. Maryland
Dusty Weaver
March 21, 2007 at 10:02pm
Thanks for calling as it helped increase the impact of the office visits. Go to this page on the C3 web site and fill out the call report form so we can know who called which Senators and Representatives and the response they gave.