| The goal of CAOMA's (Council of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Associations) and AOMNC's (Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine National Coalition) federal lobbying campaign is to pass the Federal Acupuncture Act of 2003 (H. R. 1477) in this 108th Congress. H. R. 1477, sponsored by Congressman Maurice Hinchey of New York, will amend Title 18 of the Social Security Act by adding “qualified acupuncturist services” as a legally covered benefit service to Medicare Part B, and provide for statutory reimbursement of acupuncturists under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. A grassroots effort by practitioners in California and other states urging their representative to co-sponsor H. R. 1477 is a critical and vital step towards the objective of passing this important bill. These efforts will yield positive results for acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners and for all residents of the United States. |
| As of October 2003, the following fourteen members of the California congressional delegation are co-sponsors of H. R. 1477: Rep. George Miller (D), 7th district, Rep. Barbara Lee (D), 9th district, Rep. Michael M. Honda (D), 15th district, Rep. Sam Farr (D), 17th district, Rep. Brad Sherman (D), 27th district, Rep. Adam Schiff (D), 29th district, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D), 30th district, Rep. Hilda Solis (D), 32nd district, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D), 38th district, Rep. Edward R. Royce (R), 40th district, Rep. Gary G. Miller (R), 42nd district, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R), 46th district, Rep. Loretta L. Sanchez (D), 47th district and Rep. Bob Filner (D), 51st district. |
| According to the California Acupuncture Board Survey of States Issuing Acupuncture Licenses, published in July 2003, of the 20,750 acupuncture licensees in the United States, 7,922 are in California. CAOMA and AOMNC are therefore inviting California licensees to contact their representatives to ask them to co-sponsor H. R. 1477, with the goal of all 53 representatives from California supporting this bill. |
| Interest on the part of several California acupuncture and Oriental medicine associations to mobilize grassroots support for H. R. 1477 prompted me to prepare a list of the thirty-nine (39) members of the California congressional delegation who are currently not co-sponsors of H. R. 1477. I, then, submitted this list to several of these associations, so that they can mobilize their members to contact their representatives who are not yet co-sponsors of H. R. 1477, to co-sponsor this bill. |
| To help move this process forward, CAOMA, AOMNC and Marcus & Associates invite you to call your representative at your local congressional district office (See phone numbers below), mention your strong support for H. R. 1477, and ask your representative to co-sponsor this bill. If you are not sure who your representative is, or you are not a resident of California, you can get the contact information for your representative by entering your zip code at www.congress.org. E-mail addresses for representatives are posted on their websites, which are linked at the U. S. House of Representatives website at www.house.gov. |
| CAOMA and AOMNC invites every practitioner in California to write their representatives, who have not yet co-sponsored H. R. 1477, (see addresses below), as a follow up to their phone calls. The text of the bill and a sample constituent letter is at www.acucouncil.org and at www.aomnc.com. In your letter, please state your support for H. R. 1477, and ask your representative to co-sponsor it. |
| Once you have called and/or written your representative, please contact Robert E. Marcus, lobbyist for CAOMA and AOMNC for passage of H. R. 1477. Please advise me of the date of your phone contact with your representative's district office, the name of the staff person with whom you spoke, and/or the date that you sent a letter to your representative. Please contact me with this information at Marcus_Associates@yahoo.com or at Marcus & Associates, 731 Westholme Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90024, (276) 492-8098. |
| Once I have received notification from you regarding your contacting your representative, I will follow up on the basis of your constituent contact. |
| Additionally, CAOMA and AOMNC invite practitioners from every state to likewise contact their representatives who are not yet co-sponsors of H. R. 1477, and then to contact me so I can follow up. |
| The current national list of forty-one (41) co-sponsors of H. R. 1477 is at www.acucouncil.org and at www.aomnc.com. Below is a list of the thirty-nine (39) members of the California congressional delegation who are not co-sponsors of H. R. 1477. |
| For a list of Florida and New York congressional members who are not yet co-sponsors of H. R., please watch for an update at the above-mentioned websites. |