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Senate Pain Hearing: Contact your Senators Today!

*GG*

senior member
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Location
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Since the release of the June 2011 landmark Institute of Medicine report on chronic pain, the Campaign to End Chronic Pain in Women has been working diligently with other patient advocacy and medical professional groups to encourage the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) to convene the first hearing on this major public health epidemic that affects one-third of American adults at an annual cost of $635 billion.

The HELP Committee hearing, Pain in America: Exploring Challenges to Relief, has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. The Committee will be simulcast online at: www.help.senate.gov.

We need your help to encourage all of the HELP Committee Members to attend. The names (and associated states) of the Committee members are listed below. If you live in one of these states, please send a brief note to your U.S. Senator by clicking on his/her name below and completing the online contact form. A template that you can copy/paste into the contact form and personalize is below.


We look forward to providing you with additional information as it becomes available.

Thank you in advance for your time and effort!

Members of the U.S. Senate HELP Committee

Arizona Senator John McCain
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal

Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson
Illinois Senator Mark Kirk

Kansas Senator Pat Roberts
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul
Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski
Minnesota Senator Al Franken

New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman
North Carolina Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley
Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey, Jr.
Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander
Vermont Senator Bernard Sanders
Washington Senator Patty Murray

If you live in Iowa or Wyoming, please thank Senators Harkin and Enzi for calling this important hearing.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (Chairman)
Wyoming Senator Michael Enzi (Ranking Member)

Comment Template to Copy/Paste into Contact Form and Personalize:


Dear Senator [Last Name],

I am writing to thank you as a member of the HELP Committee for passing a bipartisan amendment calling upon the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to study our nations epidemic of chronic pain, and to urge you to attend the HELP Committee Hearing, Pain in America: Exploring Challenges to Relief, on Tuesday, February 14, 2012.

According to the June 2011 IOM study, 116 adult Americans suffers from chronic pain at an annual cost of $635 billion. I am one of them. Since [year], I have suffered from [In 1-3 sentences, summarize your experiences here, focusing on quality of life, medical care, lost productivity and associated costs.]

It is of utmost importance that our nation address this growing and costly public health concern.

Sincerely,


[Your Name]