Contact Your Elected Officials
Take action today! Contact your elected officials to voice your opinion!
TODAY - April 2nd is
~Syringe Exchange National Call in Day~
Call Your Representative and the White House!
We need thousands of phone calls to get our message heard.
Support Syringe Exchange Programs and End the Federal Funding Ban
Call Your Representative and the White House NOW
Urge Your Representative to Support the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention Act of 2009 and Urge President Obama to Remove the Ban on Federal Funding from his Fiscal Year 2010 budget:
Why: Each year, approximately 8,000 Americans contract HIV/AIDS and approximately 12,000 Americans contract the hepatitis C virus directly or indirectly from sharing contaminated syringes. Almost 1/3 of every reported HIV/AIDS case in the U.S. has been attributed, either directly or indirectly, to injection drug use. Sixty percent of hepatitis C cases are attributable to injection drug use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have stated that syringe exchange programs "can be an effective component of a comprehensive strategy to prevent HIV and other blood-borne infectious diseases in communities that choose to implement them." Making clean, sterile syringes available is a simple, cost-effective method of saving lives and providing care to hard to reach populations.
Great strides were made last year when Congress lifted the ban against Washington DC using its local tax dollars to support syringe exchange. Unfortunately, since 1988, there has been a Congressional ban on the use of federal funds for Syringe Exchange Programs nationwide. By allowing federal dollars to fund Syringe Exchange Programs, the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention (CAHP) Act of 2009 will save thousands of lives and help reduce high-risk behavior. We must pass the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention Act of 2009 and end the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange.
Take Action: We need thousands of calls to make sure that Congress and the White House are paying attention to this issue. With just your zip code we will tell you your Representative's phone number and whether he or she has already sponsored the CAHP Act. If they have, please thank your representative. If not, ask your Representative to co-sponsor the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention (CAHP) Act of 2009 (H.R. 179) Please click here to call Your Representative RIGHT NOW. Please Make Your Voice Heard!
Urge your Representative to:
1) Co-sponsor the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention (CAHP) Act of 2009 (H.R. 179)
Urge the Obama Administration to:
1) Keep his campaign promise and support lifting the federal ban on funding for syringe exchange programs by removing the ban from the President's Fiscal Year 2010 budget
Talking Points:
- Member of the House of Representatives who already has co-sponsored the CAHP Act
- Thank you very much for co-sponsoring the CAHP Act of 2009 because it will allow communities to decide for themselves whether to implement syringe exchange programs.
- Please continue to support syringe exchange programs because they are a cost effective, successful means for reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and other blood-borne infectious diseases. Syringe exchange has been shown not to increase the rate of drug use.
- After you have called your Representative, please call the White House. The phone number is 202-456-1111. Please tell them to:
- Support syringe exchange programs because they are a cost effective, successful means for reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and other blood-borne infectious diseases. Syringe exchange has been shown not to increase the rate of drug use.
- Please uphold President Obama's campaign promise to lift the syringe exchange ban by removing any language that prohibits spending federal funds on syringe exchange programs through the President's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget.
Talking Points:
- Member of the House of Representatives who has not yet signed on to co-sponsor the CAHP Act
- Support syringe exchange programs because they are a cost effective, successful means for reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and other blood-borne infectious diseases. Syringe exchange has been shown not to increase the rate of drug use.
- Please Co-sponsor the CAHP Act of 2009 because it will allow local communities to decide for themselves whether to implement syringe exchange programs.
- After you have called your Representative, Please call the White House. The phone number is 202-456-1111. Please tell them to:
- Support syringe exchange programs because they are a cost effective, successful means for reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and other blood-borne infectious diseases. Syringe exchange has been shown not to increase the rate of drug use.
- Please uphold President Obama's campaign promise to lift the syringe exchange ban by removing any language that prohibits spending federal funds on syringe exchange programs through the President's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget.