As Sara outlined, this week’s Virtual Call on Congress event has been a great success and has built upon the work of the NSGC Advocacy Coordinating Committee.  More and more genetic counselors are making their voices heard with members of Congress.  While we have seen this work pay-off in increased support through co-sponsorship, we will see a significant increase in support in the coming weeks and months as more legislators are added to both S. 1450 and H.R. 2144.  This would not happen without the effort of genetic counselors around the country.

This week’s Virtual Call on Congress was just the beginning of what we hope will be a sustained flow of virtual meetings with Capitol Hill.  While we met with 80 congressional offices just this week, there are 455 more offices to engage.  Elected officials want to hear from constituents, so we need your continued help.  If you’d like NSGC’s Government Relations (GR) team to schedule a meeting for you, please email advocacy@nsgc.org. The GR team can provide you talking points, information about the bill, and accompany you on these calls.

In addition, our Virtual Call on Congress Kick-Off Webinar is available here.

We thank everyone who took time to meet with their elected officials this week.  These meetings may seem intimidating at first, but participants find participating in them to be empowering and enjoyable.  And as Sara mentioned, genetic counselors are excellent advocates – truly pros – and it is amazing to watch how effective you are in helping Congress appreciate the importance of adding genetic counselors to the Medicare program.  Please consider getting involved in future meetings by signing up for future Call on Congress events or contacting advocacy@nsgc.org.

Finally, to close out our initial round of congressional meetings, Senator John Barrasso, who is one of our Senate champions along with Senator Jon Tester, has an important message for you, watch it here.

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