07/24/2019

Take Time to Meet With Elected Officials During the August of Action

The congressional August recess begins July 27 and ends Sept. 9. Now is the time to reach out to your legislators, at both the state and federal levels, to schedule a meeting during the August break. It’s so important to build these relationships so that HME legislation can move more efficiently through governments at both levels. If your elected officials do not hear about DME issues, they cannot take action.

VGM has put together great resources to assist your advocacy efforts. The crux of the August of Action is that federal and state elected officials will be attending the same events and town halls so this makes attending town halls a wonderful use of your time and resources. Visit your federal and state legislators’ websites or call their offices to find out where and when they will be holding town halls or other local events.

We are here to equip you for the meetings.  Click here to view our top legislative priorities on the DC Link. VGM staff are willing to help in any way from scheduling meetings, offering coaching sessions on how to speak with your legislators, and providing you with concise points that will best get your message across. Reach out to Emily at 866-512-8465 or Emily.Harken@vgm.com to learn more about opportunities to get involved during the August recess. The sooner we reach out, the more time we have to plan these events and the better chance we have of getting the meeting with the members of Congress themselves. Staff meetings are great, too! Staff members are typically more knowledgeable in the details of our industry.

If you need assistance from the OAMES office or have questions about the advocacy outreach, contact Kam Yuricich at kam@oames.org.