State Societies Join AARC in Seeking Member Support for Fourth Annual Capitol Hill Lobbying Day

For Immediate Release 

IRVING, TX (January 25, 2006) – For the fifth year in a row, the AARC and its State Societies are co-sponsoring an annual Capitol Hill Lobbying Day that will draw AARC members from all over the country to Washington, DC to promote issues key to the profession of respiratory care.

The upcoming event on February 7 will be carried out by more than 90 members of the AARC Political Advocacy Contact Teams (PACT) from 43 states, who together have set up more than 200 meetings with Congressional staff and members of Congress to talk about the inclusion of respiratory therapists under Medicare's home health benefit and greater recognition for COPD through appropriations and coverage.

Cheryl West, AARC's Director of Government Affairs, emphasizes how important it is for members of Congress and their Congressional staffs to hear from respiratory therapists all over the nation in support of the key issues that PACT members will be bringing to the table next week. “ Every special interest — and we are a special interest — needs access to staff and legislators to get their points and issues across. It is the RT constituents from home that really make the difference.”

The AARC PACT members will be joined on Capitol Hill by AARC President Mike Runge, RRT, and other members of the AARC leadership, and AARC Executive Director Sam Giordano, MBA, RRT, FAARC, and key members of the Executive Office staff.

The AARC PACT was established several years ago to support AARC members in each state who have volunteered to keep watch over local and state issues vital to the profession and foster ongoing relationships with their elected officials. For more information about the PACT, visit the PACT web page at: http://www.aarc.org/advocacy/pact/ .    

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Contact: Beth Binkley
Binkley@aarc.org
American Association For Respiratory Care
9425 N MacArthur Blvd, Suite 100, Irving, TX 75063
972-406-4657, 927-243-2272