April 8, 2021 Advocacy Alert
Congressional Champions Come Through Again!
CALL Your Representatives TODAY and Urge Them
to SIGN ON to the Bipartisan OAA Funding Letter!
April 8, 2021
As in years past, Older Americans Act (OAA) champion Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) has just circulated a letter to her fellow Representatives requesting their signatures in support of a request to House Appropriations Labor/HHS/Education Subcommittee leaders that is in line with n4a’s request to double FY 2022 funding for Older Americans Act (OAA) Title III programs. Showcasing bipartisan support for older adults to age independently at home, she’s joined by Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Ted Deutch (D-FL) and John Katko (R-NY) in rallying their colleagues to patron this effort.
Emergency funds have provided immediate relief to the Aging Network as it has served growing numbers of older adults in need—but it’s now time to address the critical funding necessary to sustain these much-needed services for the long term. Your advocacy is vital to the FY 2022 annual appropriations process and will help determine what next year’s OAA funding will be. This letter will be one of thousands sent to Appropriations Committee leaders asking for particular funding levels for thousands of federal discretionary programs. Flood gates are open, needs are high and requests are coming in from across the country. That’s why we need you to contact your Representative NOW and drive signatures to the OAA letter—so appropriators recognize the bipartisan support that already exists for boosting funding for these essential programs!
- Read the bipartisan Bonamici-Stefanik OAA sign-on letter.
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 Thursday, April 22, so please do your outreach TODAY, then spread the word in your community to drive more calls!!!
Action Requested:
→Call your Representatives and ask them to sign on to the letter circulated by Reps. Bonamici, Stefanik, Deutch and Katko 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.
STEP 2: Tell them about the bipartisan Bonamici-Stefanik 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 your Member 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 at Jack.Arriaga@mail.house.gov.
STEP 2: Tell them about the bipartisan Bonamici-Stefanik 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 your Member 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 at Jack.Arriaga@mail.house.gov.
The deadline for signatures is Thursday, April 22.
* For sample talking points to ready your ask, see n4a’s March 30 Advocacy Alert.→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 very short window of opportunity, so we need you and your colleagues to act fast on this particular request!
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If you have questions or concerns about this Advocacy Alert or n4a’s policy positions, please contact Monica Billger at mbillger@n4a.org and Amy Gotwals at agotwals@n4a.org.