Monday, Feb. 12, 2007

Dear Advocacy Volunteers,

I returned last week from another visit to D.C.—this time with a dual purpose of attending the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) annual meeting and visiting with eight offices on Capitol Hill to discuss the National Psoriasis Foundation's 2007 public policy priorities and line up support for our key initiatives prior to Capitol Hill Day on Feb. 26.

Two months ago when I was in D.C., the halls of Congress were crammed with furniture, and offices were turned upside down during the "musical offices" that members of Congress play every two years when a session of Congress ends. I was happy to see empty halls and furnished spaces this time—a sign that members and their staffers are settling in as the 110th Congress gets under way.

Along with representatives of our government relations firm I met with key congressional staff to discuss our priorities and the introduction of comprehensive psoriasis authorizing legislation—a proposal that if passed by both the House and Senate, and signed by the President, would become law. The National Psoriasis Foundation has authored this bill, which we have dubbed the "Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research, Care, and Cure Act." We are in the process of finalizing the introduction of this important policy proposal and hope to have it in place before Capitol Hill Day. However, as with most congressional efforts, much of the timing and process is out of our control. We hope to have good news to report at Capitol Hill Day � if not sooner. Check our Web site soon for details of the bill.

We also had one of our regular meetings with NIAMS—the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases—the main institute under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that funds psoriasis research. Due to our efforts to build our relationship with NIAMS, the National Psoriasis Foundation recently was invited to nominate psoriasis researchers to serve as advisors to NIAMS. We are thrilled that two of our candidates were selected to be advisors to the agency.

During the meeting I followed up on a recent request sent by psoriasis community champion, Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.-6th) to NIAMS requesting a full accounting of its FY2006 spending on psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Rep. Gerlach sent a similar request to NIAMS last year, which resulted in the National Psoriasis Foundation receiving important information about grants for psoriasis that NIAMS funded in FY2005. The FY2006 information will provide us important insight into NIAMS' investment in finding a cure for psoriasis. I will be attending a meeting of the NIAMS Council on Feb. 27 and will meet with Dr. Carl Baker, the NIAMS director of skin research, to review the status of psoriasis grant applications. At that meeting, we will also continue to encourage the agency to prioritize research toward a cure.

When not on Capitol Hill or on the NIH campus, I was busy participating in the AAD annual meeting activities. As part of this, I updated our Medical Board and met with corporate partners, and the legislative committee of the Dermatology Nurses' Association (DNA). This meeting with DNA was exciting, as that organization is interested in moving dermatology health care issues forward with Congress. We discussed various ways to partner on legislative and advocacy priorities, and to start, DNA will be sending a representative to participate in our Capitol Hill Day. I am most appreciative of DNA and its support and partnership.

These are just some high points from my latest advocacy week in D.C. We are in the final stages of Capitol Hill Day preparation, and more than 100 volunteers plan to join us on the Hill this year. I am excited to announce that we have 29 states represented and are set to visit 58 Senators and 73 Representatives—our presence most definitely will be felt. Our government relations firm, Drinker Biddle Gardner Carton (for simplicity's sake "the Firm!"), will now begin scheduling the Capitol Hill Day appointments. For those of you unable to join us in Washington, D.C., please do not forget that you can support our efforts by participating in Capitol Call-In http://www.psoriasis.org/advocacy/chd/2007/cci.php.

I look forward to seeing many of you in just a few weeks for Capitol Hill Day. I hope you share my excitement about our advocacy efforts and thank you for your ongoing interest and support. Your involvement is so important to the success of our grassroots movement.

Sheila Rittenberg
Director of Advocacy