Key States & Senators
Building a network of gastroenterologists with ties to 535 members of Congress is an ambitious agenda, something we hope to achieve over the next several years. However, we must first start with important targets, specifically legislators who have had significant influence over decisions Congress has made in recent years on key health-care issues.
As we have all seen over the past few years, many key votes occur in the U.S. Senate regardless of which party controls the Congress. By design, the “upper house” is the more deliberative body, which can have both positive and negative implications for gastroenterology. Therefore, we have identified 13 senators who we believe are potential “swing” votes and often can bridge the divide among an ever increasingly partisan Congress. We ask that if you are from one of the states of the senators listed below, would you be willing to serve as a CAP liaison to that senator.
- Sen. Scott Brown, R-MA
- Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME
- Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-ME
- Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND
- Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-LA
- Sen. Ben Nelson, D-NE
- Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-AR
- Sen. Mark Pryor, D-AR
- Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA
- Sen. Jim Webb, D-VA
- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR
- Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC
- Sen. Thomas Carper, D-DE
If you have an existing relationship with your legislator who is not from the states listed above, or know a colleague who enjoys such a relationship, we strongly encourage your involvement as well.
We do not expect that a significant time commitment is necessary to be an effective member of the CAP, but the time you and your colleagues spend will be invaluable to our long-term success.
Review a list of goals and suggested responsibilities of an active member of the AGA CAP to gain a better sense of what a commitment to the program might entail.
If you would like to be involved in the AGA CAP or recommend a colleague, please contact Lauren DePutter, political affairs manager, at 240-482-3221 or ldeputter@gastro2.org.
