SMA Treatment Acceleration Act Call To Action
The SMA Treatment Acceleration Act directs federal funds for research into treatments for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Tell Congress that you care about families affected by SMA. All it takes is 5 minutes to make a difference!
To Reach Out by Phone:
- Go to www.congress.org
- On the top left of the screen "My Elected Officials," enter your zip code.
- The next screen will list your state representatives for your local area (as determined by your zip code).
- Click on the names of each of the individuals you are contacting (2 senators and 1 representative).
- Contact information for those individuals will appear. You may call either their local office or their D.C. office.
- Go to http://www.mda.org/advocacy/SMA_Treatment.html and check to see if your elected officials are cosponsors of the legislation in the list at the bottom of the page. If your elected officials have cosponsored the legislation, be sure to thank them in your message.
When contacting your elected officials by phone, the following are sample scripts that may be used during your calls:
Script for Phone Calls to Senators:
“Hello, this is _________I am calling from ... (Your State) and would like to speak with the Senator’s Health staff person.
(Note: If the health staffer is not available, you may speak with any staffer available. If no one is available, please ask to leave a voicemail message for the health staff person.)
I am calling to urge you to support the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act S.2042…
(Note: Please share something about yourself and why this issue is important to you.)
SMA, or spinal muscular atrophy, is a progressive, muscle-wasting disease. It is estimated that some 7.5 million Americans carry the gene that causes SMA. There is no known treatment for this condition, but great research advances have been made. The SMA Treatment Acceleration Act supports the scientific and clinical community working to find a treatment or cure for SMA. Passage of this landmark legislation will enable scientists to mount national clinical trials that may lead to lifesaving treatments.
Can I count on the Senator’s support?
(Note: Most likely, the person you are speaking to will not be able to commit to supporting the bill but they can commit to learning more about it and speaking with the Senator about the issue.)
Thank you for your time.”
Script for Phone Calls to Member of the House of Representatives:
“Hello, this is _________I am calling from ... (Your City) and would like to speak with the Congressperson’s Health staff person.
(Note: If the health staffer is not available, you may speak with any staffer available. If no one is available, please ask to leave a voicemail message for the health staff person.)
I am calling to urge you to support the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act, H.R. 3334…
(Note: Please share something about yourself and why this issue is important to you.)
SMA, or spinal muscular atrophy, is a progressive, muscle-wasting disease. It is estimated that some 7.5 million Americans carry the gene that causes SMA. There is no known treatment for this condition, but great research advances have been made. The SMA Treatment Acceleration Act supports the scientific and clinical community working to find a treatment or cure for SMA. Passage of this landmark legislation will enable scientists to mount national clinical trials that may lead to lifesaving treatments.
Can I count on the Congressman/woman’s support?
(Note: Most likely, the person you are speaking to will not be able to commit to supporting the bill but they can commit to learning more about it and speaking with the Congressperson about the issue.)
Thank you for your time.”
To Reach Out By E-mail
- Go to www.congress.org
- On the top left of the screen "My Elected Officials," enter your zip code.
- On the next screen, under "Write Your Elected Officials," click on “Federal.”
- On the next screen, you will next be asked to provide your full home address.
- The next screen will provide you with all of the prompts you need to compose a quick note to the intended officials. You may choose to visit http://www.mda.org/advocacy/SMA_Treatment.html to check if your elected officials are cosponsors of the legislation in the list at the bottom of the page. If your elected officials have cosponsored the legislation, be sure to thank them in your message.
- Simply complete the form and press send - the e-mails will automatically be delivered for you.
E-mail Content to Representatives
I am a registered voter in [CITY, STATE} and also [A PERSON/FAMILY MEMBER OF A PERSON/FRIEND OF A PERSON] with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I am writing to [THANK YOU FOR YOUR/URGE YOU TO] support [OF] H.R. 3334, the “SMA Treatment Acceleration Act”.
SMA is the number one genetic killer of children under the age of two, occurring in about 1 of every 6,000 births; it is estimated that some 7.5 million Americans carry the gene that causes SMA. There is no known treatment for this progressive, muscle-wasting disease but great research advances have been made, thanks to the efforts of voluntary health organizations that serve our SMA community. In fact, among more than 600 neurological disorders, SMA has been singled out by the National Institutes of Health as the disease closest to treatment based on scientists’ advanced genetic understanding of the disease.
In order to support the scientific and clinical community working to find a treatment or cure for SMA, the SMA community has united to introduce the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act. Passage of this landmark legislation will enable scientists to mount national clinical trials that may lead to life-saving treatments for families like mine.
Again, [PLEASE CONSIDER/THANK YOU FOR] supporting the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act, H.R.3334. Our lives are depending on you.
E-mail Content to Senators
I am a registered voter in [CITY, STATE} and also [A PERSON/FAMILY MEMBER OF A PERSON/FRIEND OF A PERSON] with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I am writing to [THANK YOU FOR YOUR/URGE YOU TO] support [OF] S. 2042, the “SMA Treatment Acceleration Act”.
SMA is the number one genetic killer of children under the age of two, occurring in about 1 of every 6,000 births; it is estimated that some 7.5 million Americans carry the gene that causes SMA. There is no known treatment for this progressive, muscle-wasting disease but great research advances have been made, thanks to the efforts of voluntary health organizations that serve our SMA community. In fact, among more than 600 neurological disorders, SMA has been singled out by the National Institutes of Health as the disease closest to treatment based on scientists’ advanced genetic understanding of the disease.
In order to support the scientific and clinical community working to find a treatment or cure for SMA, the SMA community has united to introduce the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act. Passage of this landmark legislation will enable scientists to mount national clinical trials that may lead to life-saving treatments for families like mine.
Again, [PLEASE CONSIDER/THANK YOU FOR] supporting the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act, S. 2042. Our lives are depending on you.
To Reach Out By Mail
- Go to www.congress.org
- On the top left of the screen "My Elected Officials," enter your zip code.
- The next screen will list your state representatives for your local area (as determined by your zip code).
- Click on the names of each of the individuals you are contacting (2 senators and 1 representative).
- Contact information for those individuals will appear. You may address mail to either their local office or their DC office.
- Sample drafts to the House and Senate are provided for your convenience.
Learn more about the SMA Treatment Acceleration |
