ACTION ALERT
We Need Your Voice
Join the TSA Grassroots Campaign
  
Please click here to view/download the above letter in MS Word™ (.doc) format
Please click here to view/download the above (yellow) flyer in PDF™ format

TSA invites you to make a difference. It’s sometimes hard to imagine that the actions of one person — or even the coordinated actions of small groups — can effect change in Washington, but the TSA knows first-hand that success is possible. For 39 years we have worked to expand both general and professional awareness of TS and for the past two decades we have advocated on behalf of legislation that has a direct impact on the lives of people with TS. At the heart of this grassroots campaign is winning the acknowledgment that TS is a public health issue.

It took a long time and a lot of work, but in 2000 Tourette Syndrome was mentioned by name for the first time in federal legislation. It was in the Children’s Health Act of 2000 and that single success authorized the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a Public Health, Education and Research Program on Tourette Syndrome. Today, we know that program as the highly effective partnership between TSA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Each fiscal year the Public Health, Education and Research Program must be funded. And each year Congressional Champions of this important legislation send a ‘Dear Colleague Letter’ to the Appropriations Committee. This letter circulates in the House and Senate collecting signatures by a set deadline when it is presented to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committees in both Chambers.

In this time of budget cutting, it’s important to remember that the Senators and Congressional Representatives who sign (or don’t sign) these critical ‘Dear Colleague Letters’ represent all of us. It’s important that they know what is important to their constituents. Tell them.

This fall the 112th Congress will continue to debate several issues that have a direct impact on funding for important health-related programs in the coming years. Connect with your representatives and make sure that they know that you are concerned about legislation that might harm the Tourette Syndrome Public Health, Education and Research Program at the CDC. Help us make sure that your representatives understand that TS is a public health issue that deservers continued funding.

One way to take action is to write letters to your representatives; a letter with suggested language can be downloaded by clicking the link under the letter image above; you may also want to print flyers (link above) to share with your local chapter, support groups, and community.

Or, visit our Public Policy Section and click on Legislative Action, to where it says click here to Take Action, or log on directly to www.capwiz.com/tsa. You may also want to create your own grassroots campaign. Work with your local chapter or support group leaders to encourage activism in your community.

Your social circle is also a good resource. Enlist the help of your friends and family. Ask them to reach out to their elected officials to communicate how this important program deserves continued funding.
We encourage you to help make a difference.