May 4, 2022 Advocacy Alert

 

UPDATE: Senator Sanders (I-VT) has extended the deadline for signatures to his Dear Colleague letter an additional three days! This means we have until Tuesday, May 17 to drive signatures that support the doubling of funding for Older Americans Act programs for FY 2023!
 
Your Senators need to hear from you! Senator Sanders’ letter serves as a reminder that OAA programs require increased resources due to increased pandemic demand that has not diminished, existing population growth and inflation—as well as to finally restore the cuts made by federal budget reductions over the previous decade. If your Senator(s) has not yet signed on to this critical letter, now is your time to press for long-overdue investments for older adults and caregivers in your community.
 
Our goal this year is to exceed the 40 signatures from Senators who signed on to last year’s letter. To date, 30 Senators have signed on. They are: Brown, Kaine, Cardin, Hassan, Murphy, Hirono, Van Hollen, Casey, Smith, Blumenthal, Markey, Stabenow, Reed, Schatz, Peters, Warren, Merkley, Baldwin, Rosen, Kelly, King, Booker, Ossoff, Cantwell, Cortez Masto, Klobuchar, Gillibrand, Wyden, Shaheen and Duckworth. If one or more of these Senators is yours, please reach out and say THANK YOU!
 
Read the Sanders OAA sign-on letter.

Deadline: Senators’ signatures are due by 5:00 PM ET on Tuesday, May 17.
 
Action Requested:
 
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 Senator’s website.

STEP 2: Tell your Senator(s) about the Senator Sanders’ OAA Dear Colleague letter and offer to email them a link to the letter if they have not already seen it. Let them know exactly why you want them to sign on to the OAA letter.
 
STEP 3: Give local statistics that demonstrate the need for an increase in OAA funding and make sure to highlight the growing demand for services in your community. If they ask for Senator Sanders’ staff, tell them to contact Michaela Brown at Michaela_Brown@help.senate.gov.
 
 
But that’s not all! Your continued advocacy will be critical in the coming days and weeks. USAging’s April 26 Advocacy Alert provides you with the resources you need for additional advocacy outreach through our FY 2023 appropriations campaign page. We need all AAAs, Title VI Native American Aging Programs and all your local allies to raise their voices in support of Older Americans Act funding. We must ensure that all Members of Congress know that the pandemic repercussions of increased demand for services endure and exist alongside changing demographics and the after-effects of a decade of stagnant funding—all of which risks the health, well-being and independence of their older constituents!

Stay tuned for more updates from USAging and check out USAging’s FY 2023 appropriations campaign page for additional advocacy resources, as always, we thank you for your advocacy!