News Update:
Healthcare Reform Update
By Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, Director of the GRD
Much has happened with healthcare reform since I last updated you in September. The Senate Finance Committee passed their version of healthcare reform, and the Senate leadership is working to combine the Finance Committee bill with the bill passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The bill then goes to the Congressional Budget Office to determine the cost of the legislation.
Once that is done, Majority Leader Harry Reid must find 60 votes just to begin debate on the bill. This does not guarantee passage of the bill as Senator Reid and the Democrats need 60 votes to invoke cloture, which would cut off debate on the bill and allow a vote to approve or... More »
Featured Articles:
FTC Delays Red Flags Enforcement to July 10; Legislation Moves through House
By Gina Luke, Assistant Director of the GRD
With the red flags enforcement date looming, members of Congress convinced the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to delay enforcement from November 1 to June 1, 2010. The announcement was posted at www.ftc.gov
On October 20, the U.S. House of Representatives approved by a 400-0 vote legislation (HR 3763) that will exempt veterinary offices and other health care practices, as well as certain law and accounting firms with fewer than 20 employees, from the red flags identity theft guidelines. The legislation would also allow the FTC some flexibility to waive... More »
Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act Placed on "Hold"
By Dr. Angela Demaree, Assistant Director of the GRD
Animal Welfare issues and legislation are anything but routine inside the beltway. Most bills go through a routine process before being signed into law. In general the process is: (1) introduction into the House and/or Senate, (2) referral to relevant committee(s) and subcommittee(s), (3) hearings are held to hear arguments for and against legislation, (4) subcommittee and full committee markups are held to amend the legislation as needed, (5) passage in the House and Senate, (6) the bill language is reconciled if it is not identical between both Chambers, and finally (7) signed into law by the President of the United States. More »
AVMA Urges CDC to Give H1N1 Vaccine Priority to Veterinarians
By Dr. Ashley Shelton, Assistant Director of the GRD
In light of the vaccine shortage combined with the threat of an H1N1 influenza pandemic, the AVMA is urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand their targeted recipient list of those who are eligible to receive the H1N1 vaccine. Due to the susceptibility of the swine population and the ability of the pandemic virus to spread from humans to pigs and/or within pig populations, veterinarians and workers who deal with swine are at increased risk for contracting the virus and spreading it across both the human and swine populations.
Based on those concerns, the AVMA has teamed up with the American Association of Swine Veterinarians to request that the CDC give priority access to available vaccination to veterinarians and workers... More »
Grassroots Update:
Using Social Media for Advocacy
By Stephanie Fisher, Grassroots Coordinator
As social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter become more widely used, you would think it would be easier to communicate your messages to the masses, but the reality is these tools can actually make it much harder. They are so easy to use that people are inundated with information from all sides. It's easy to follow a Twitter feed or become a fan of a Facebook page but it's just as easy to delete messages from your inbox.
If we want to use social networking to successfully advance our advocacy goals, we have to give members a reason to listen to us and we need to listen to them. After all, the difference between communication and marketing is that communication is a two-way street. More »
Opportunities:
State Legislative Mid-Year Report Now Online
Every year, state legislatures consider thousands of proposals. So far in 2009, state legislators have introduced 142,000 bills, with 27,300 adopted into law. Of course, a good number of these proposals affect animals in some way, and in some cases, veterinary medicine specifically. The State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Department in the AVMA Communications Division has just published its mid-year report highlighting significant bills and regulatory decisions. You can access the report by clicking here. The AVMA monthly state legislative updates, along with mid-year and year-end reports, are posted here.
Join us on Facebook
Join the hundreds of supporters of the Congressional Advocacy Network (AVMA-CAN) – including hundreds of people not affiliated with the veterinary profession – on the popular social networking site Facebook! The AVMA-CAN Facebook page is open to all Facebook users, so we encourage you, your family and friends to join our group to help advance the profession of veterinary medicine. Find AVMA-CAN's Facebook page here.
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