April 1, 2008

Dear Advocacy Volunteers,

It's April Fool's Day but this is no joke—there have been some very exciting developments since 100 of us met in Washington, D.C. for Capitol Hill Day in early March.

First, we have added 18 new co-sponsors to the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research, Cure, and Care Act (PPARCCA)—17 in the House for H.R. 1188 and one new senator for S. 1459. The momentum across the country is palpable. Every day, e-mails pour in from advocates reporting progress on communication with their members of Congress. Our volunteers left D.C. "pumped up," as they say. We continue to receive messages from people extending their appreciation and gratitude for the Capitol Hill Day event and for the opportunity to make a difference. I think more than ever, our community is seeing that taking political action is meaningful, important and in fact, a responsibility.

Congressman David Wu, who introduced PPARCCA in the House, is extremely pleased with the swelling of co-sponsorships and the grassroots efforts that are fueling this activity. His office continues to work within Congress to leverage support for the bill. Together, thanks to his outreach to his colleagues and our grassroots efforts, a total of 77 House members have co-sponsored H.R. 1188.

Psoriasis advocate, Ben Lindner, at his home in Oregon

On the Senate side, our focus is to build bipartisan support for S. 1459 by adding Republican senators to our growing list of co-sponsors. To accomplish this goal we continue to work hard to get the word out about psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. We are seeing results! Recently, the Psoriasis Foundation has been asked by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to provide a person living with psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis to testify at a Senate hearing in front of the Special Committee of Aging. Titled "Scrambling for Health Insurance Coverage: Health Security for People in Late Middle Age," the hearing will focus on health insurance problems faced by older Americans. The hearing is part of a larger effort by Wyden to bring attention to the health care crisis. Our witness, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patient Ben Lindner, is traveling to D.C. and will testify on April 3. As excellent visibility for the psoriasis community, this testimony will help us accomplish dual goals of informing Senators about the barriers to access for people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and influencing Senators to join as co-sponsors of PPARCCA.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and National Psoriasis Foundation Board of Trustees member, Ben Isenberg

Finally, the Fair Shake campaign is spreading like wild fire. We have several advocates who have set up meetings with their members of Congress to get their hand shake on support for psoriasis. Many of these are new relationships and bring with them contacts that we didn't have before—and we'll use them to develop increased support for our community. Our volunteers have responded well to Fair Shake, enjoy its fun, competitive style and are up to taking on the challenge.

For those of you who attended Capitol Hill Day, I hope you are all feeling positive about the remarkable role you played. I would also like to extend our appreciation to all of the advocates who participated in our Capitol Call-in. For those of you active in your states and districts in building support for psoriasis, keep up the great work because it is paying off!

Thank you, as always, for your support and involvement in advocacy for a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Best regards,

Sheila Rittenberg
Senior Director of Advocacy & External Affairs

P.S. For tips and coaching on being an effective advocate, Alyssa Brown is always available to help- abrown@psoriasis.org or 800.723.9166, ext. 407.