|
Help Pass FAAMA in 2009!
As you know, FAAN is leading the effort to push the Senate to enact the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA), which calls for voluntary national guidelines to help schools manage students affected by food allergy and anaphylaxis.
FAAMA was passed by the House in 2008, and earned support from 42 Senators.
Unfortunately, FAAMA was not taken up by the Senate before it adjourned; however, FAAMA has been reintroduced into the new Congress as S.456 and HR.1378.
If your US Senators and US Representative have not yet signed on as co-sponsors of FAAMA, we encourage you to contact them and ask for their support. Below are some talking points you can use in your letter, email, or phone call.
To see which Representatives are co-sponsoring FAAMA, click here. To see which Senators are co-sponsoring FAAMA, send an email to cweiss@foodallergy.org
Contact information for your US Senators and your US Representative.
Suggested Talking Points on S.456 and HR.1378
The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA)
* Introduce yourself as someone from the state who is the parent of a child with has food allergies.
* Explain the seriousness of food allergies and describe an anaphylactic reaction.
* Point out that over 2 million school children have food allergies including thousands in your state.
* Express support for S.456 (if contacting your Senator) or HR.1378 (if contacting your Representative).
* Describe what the bill would do: 1) requires the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and make available to schools a voluntary policy to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools, and 2) provides for school-based food allergy management incentive grants to support implementation of food allergy management guidelines in public schools.
* Explain that FAAMA was passed by the House in 2008, and was supported by more than 40 Senators in 2008.
* Mention that FAAMA has already earned bipartisan support in 2009.
* At the end of your email or phone conversation, make a specific request that the staff person get back to you as to whether the Senator or Representative will co-sponsor the bill.
|
