March 29, 2017 Advocacy Alert

Help Push for OAA Funding Increases: Call Your Representatives TODAY!
Ask Them to Sign on to the Bonamici OAA Letter

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) has again this year circulated a letter to her fellow Representatives requesting their signatures in support of a request to House Appropriations Labor/HHS/Education Subcommittee leaders to increase funding for Older Americans Act (OAA) Title III programs in FY 2018. This year, she’s joined by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) in rallying their colleagues to support this effort.

The annual appropriations process that determines FY 2017 OAA funding is just beginning. This letter will be one of thousands sent to the Appropriations Committee’s leaders asking for particular funding levels for thousands of federal discretionary programs. That’s why we need your support to drive signatures to the OAA letter, so appropriators notice the bipartisan support for these vital programs!

Read the Bonamici-Deutch-Loebsack OAA sign-on letter.

The letter specifically asks for authorization level funding for OAA Title III B Supportive Services, Title III C Nutrition and Title III E National Family Caregiver Support Program. This approach complements n4a’s FY 2018 OAA appropriations priorities on III B and III E, which we detailed in a March 6 letter to Congress. Authorization level funding means the modest increases that Congress approved in last year’s OAA reauthorization—those were bipartisan recommendations, but just recommendations. Now we need to make them reality.

We need you to take action to urge your Representatives to sign on to this letter to ensure that it receives the strong support needed for the Subcommittee to take this request seriously.

Members’ signatures are due by close of business on Monday, April 3, so please do your outreach TODAY, then spread the word in your community to drive more calls tomorrow!

Action Requested:

Call your Representatives and ask them to sign on to the letter circulated by Reps. Bonamici, Deutch and Loebsack on OAA funding. Even if you know enough about your Member’s voting history to understand your request is not an easy one, please do this outreach anyway. It’s vital that all Representatives understand how critical OAA funding is to older adults and caregivers!

STEP 1: Call the DC office and ask for the staff member who handles Older Americans Act or appropriations issues. You can reach them through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 or find the number on your Member’s website. (Since time is of the essence, call or fax your requests—emails won’t get noticed in time.)
STEP 2: Tell them about the Bonamici-Deutch-Loebsack OAA Dear Colleague letter and offer to email them a link to the letter if they have not already seen it.
STEP 3: Let them know exactly why you want the Rep. to sign on to the OAA letter. Give local statistics that demonstrate the need for an increase in OAA funding. If they ask for a staff contact for Rep. Bonamici, tell them to contact Jack Arriaga, telephone at 202.225.0855.

The deadline for signatures is COB Monday, April 3.

Ask other advocates to do the same! Urge colleagues, advisory board members, volunteers and clients to make calls to their Representatives, as well. We have a short window of opportunity, so we need you and your colleagues to act fast on this particular request!

Later this week, n4a will be launching our annual appropriations campaign, with new grassroots tools to help us make the case for OAA, so stay tuned!

If you have questions or concerns about this Advocacy Alert or n4a’s policy positions, please contact Autumn Campbell at acampbell@n4a.org and Amy Gotwals at agotwals@n4a.org.

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