Requesting Meetings with our Senators and Representative

Hi Ladies,

As many of you are aware, yesterday the Senate achieved the necessary 60 votes to initiate debate on its health care reform bill. This debate will likely start around Nov. 30 and last several weeks.

Many of us have discussed the option of requesting meetings with our senators and our representative to discuss this important issue. Senator Specter, Senator Casey, and Representative Holden’s websites all have meeting request forms. We do not know the likelihood that we will be granted a meeting, but any action to express our concerns on this important issue is valuable. A group of physicians, medical students, and families could be a strong and powerful voice.

The question for you ladies is: 1) Who would like their name to be included on the meeting request form? 2) What husband’s names can be included when we request a meeting?

If any of these meetings are granted, they would likely take place in Harrisburg or potentially D.C. Also, we will request that the meetings take place on a Saturday. If we include your name and a meeting is scheduled, that does not mean you would have to attend. Of course schedules change and we would adjust as necessary – but right now we just need to get names on the form and get the form submitted at this critical and important moment in the debate. Here is a short statement we will use in our request:

Dear Senator Specter (Senator Casey, Representative Holden): We would like to meet with you to express our perspectives and concerns regarding the health care reform bill currently before the Senate. As your constituents and as physicians, medical students and families of medical professionals, we will be deeply impacted by your vote on this important issue.

Thank you so much ladies! We plan to submit the forms midweek so let us know soon!

Thanks!

Linsy and Natalie

P.S. Its still important to contact our Representative in addition to our Senators because - If the Senate passes the bill, it will then move to Conference Committee – where the House and Senate bills will be molded into a compromise bill and then voted on again by our Senators in the Senate and our Representative in the House prior to signature from the President.

P.P.S. Let’s give it a good college try!