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CLMA Chapters:
The CLMA PAC Urgently Needs Your Help!
Please Meet the 2008 Chapter Challenge
The 2008 PAC fund-raising goal is $25,000. Unfortunately our top fund-raising event,
ThinkLab ’08, was canceled this year. Without this key event we need to make up
a
shortfall of approximately $20,000.
2008 is a key election year. It is critical that we position ourselves for the future Congress and new Administration.
We continue to reach out to CLMA Chapters to help us make up the $20,000 shortfall by asking them to hold PAC events at Chapter meetings. To encourage Chapters to hold PAC events, the CLMA PAC Board has announced the 2008 Chapter Challenge.
The following Chapters have already met the Chapter Challenge by holding a PAC Event at a Chapter Meeting in 2008:
- Greater Los Angeles Chapter (GLAC) (Two PAC events)
- St. Louis Chapter
- Iowa Chapter
- Bay State Chapter
- NH/VT Chapter
- Wheatland Chapter
- Great Plains Chapter
- Arkansas Chapter
- Orange County Chapter
- West Virginia Chapter
- Delaware Valley Chapter
- Centennial Chapter
- Western PA Chapter
- Aloha Chapter
- IL-IN-KY Chapter
- Six Rivers Chapter
- Greater Indiana Chapter
- Bluegrass Chapter
- Golden Gate Chapter
- NJ CLMA Chapter
- Volunteer State Chapter
- Northern California
These Chapter events are having a significant impact. To date Chapters have raised over $5,000!
Here’s all you need to know to join the Chapters above and meet the Chapter Challenge:
- Each Chapter that holds a PAC event in 2008 will be eligible for a prize drawing
- Five Chapters will be chosen to each receive one free registration to ThinkLab ’09 in Tampa, Florida
- Chapters will be encouraged to award the prize to a PAC donor in the Chapter
- For Chapters that hold multiple events in 2008, each event held will increase the chance of winning a prize
- The 2008 Chapter Challenge will run until December 31, 2008
- Winners will be announced January 2009
Setting up a PAC booth at your Chapter meeting is easy. It’s a great way to get your chapter involved in advocacy and to gain recognition for your efforts. Plus you will be ensuring that the voice of the laboratory community is heard at the time of greatest need!
The Chapter Toolkit is available on the chapter leader Web page (www.clma.org) with all of the resources you will need. Donor ribbons, pins and PAC brochures can be mailed to you from CLMA’s Executive Office to have on hand.
Remember, only individual CLMA members can donate to the PAC. If a member joins CLMA and at the same time donates to the PAC, please send us a copy of their membership application form along with their PAC contribution form. Donations by check or credit card must be from a personal account. Chapters cannot donate to the PAC. Please convert all cash donations to a money order.
If you are interested in joining these Chapters by having a PAC Event at your next Chapter meeting, please immediately contact Katharine I. Ayres, Director of Legislative/Regulatory Affairs, at kayres@clma.org.
2008 Washington D.C. Fund Raisers:
2008 has proven to be a phenomenally successful year for clinical laboratories on Capitol Hill. Using a proactive distribution plan, the PAC Board of Directors targeted key lawmakers through “lab-only” fund raisers in order to get the maximum “bang” for your PAC dollars. The “lab-only” focus provides an excellent opportunity for one-on-one dialogue with the candidates to educate them on specific laboratory issues.
The CLMA PAC disbursed a total of $13,000 to the following candidates in 2008:
- Representative Pete Stark (CA)
- Senator Ken Salazar (CO)
- Representative Allyson Schwartz (PA)
- Representative Frank Pallone (NJ)
- Senator Pat Roberts (KS)
- Representative Nydia Velazquez (NY)
- Representative Bart Stupak (MI)
Senator Pat Roberts (KS) and Representative Nydia Velazquez (NY) were the lead sponsors of S 2099 and HR 3453, bills to permanently repeal the competitive bidding demonstration project.
Senator Ken Salazar (CO) and Representative Allyson Schwartz (PA) also were co-sponsors, and key members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee respectively.
Representative Pete Stark (CA) is the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair, and Representative Frank Pallone (NJ) is the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair, both key committees with jurisdiction over Medicare issues. Representative Bart Stupak (MI) also serves on the full Energy and Commerce Committee, and is the lead sponsor of the “Clinical Laboratory Diagnostic Fee Schedule Modernization Act of 2008 (HR 6761).”
Chapter Advocacy Representatives
The 2007-2008 Chapter Success Standards includes the following Silver Standard under Executive Involvement:
“The Chapter names an advocacy representative and submits the name to the Executive Office.
For International Chapters this would be a member that has active communication with the government body that sets health care policy in their (country, province, or region).**
**The Legislative Liaison is involved with local and state governments. The Chapter advocacy representative is involved at the national level or with the CLMA Political Action Committee. One person could fulfill both of these roles.”
The main responsibilities of the Chapter Advocacy Representative (CAR) include the following:
- Communicate national advocacy and PAC initiatives from the CLMA Executive Office to the Chapter
- Communicate Chapter advocacy and PAC initiatives back to the CLMA Executive Office
- Serve as a local contact for national or state-specific grassroots activities and report results back to the CLMA Executive Office
The CLMA Executive Office is updating its list of CARs. In order to meet this Silver Standard (worth 3 points), Chapters are reminded to submit the name of the representative to CLMA. If your Chapter has designated a CAR, or you are serving as the CAR, please contact Katharine I. Ayres Director of Legislative/Regulatory Affairs, at kayres@clma.org.
CLMA Members:
We Need Your Support!
As mentioned above, the 2008 PAC goal is $25,000 and without ThinkLab ’08, our main fund-raising event, we need to make up a shortfall of $20,000 in a key election year.
To reach that goal and take full advantage of laboratory-only fund raisers like those previously described to proactively advance laboratory issues and give a voice to the profession, we need your support. Now more than ever is the time to donate to the CLMA PAC!
If every eligible CLMA member donates just $10, we would easily surpass our goal. Regardless of the size of the donation, every dollar makes a difference! If you believe we need a voice on Capitol Hill, please donate today.
A $25 Donation enters you to win the Grand Prize!
To encourage CLMA members to give, the PAC Board will also hold a Grand Prize Drawing in addition to the Chapter Challenge. Each CLMA member who donates a minimum of $25 in 2008 will be entered to win a free registration to ThinkLab ’09 in Tampa, Florida and a $500 travel gift certificate. For every $25 donated in 2008, the member gets an additional chance to win the Grand Prize. The Grand Prize will be announced in January 2009.
For more information about the CLMA PAC and how to contribute, please visit http://www.clma.org/KnowledgeCenter/knc.aspx?s=advc&t1=pac. |
