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Why Bother? Why Try?
 Dear Fellow Advocates-
Unite 2 Fight Paralysis
must tell you about our last-ditch plan to get the
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act
passed into law in these final weeks of the 109th Congress. We want
to explain WHY we believe that with your help, we CAN get it done.
This is our third try for the CRPA. It may well be the third time
it "dies on the vine". The reasons are painfully obvious...budget
cuts, reduced emphasis on funding for research, a widespread belief
that there will never be a cure for paralysis, political games.
You may wonder to yourself-why are these people at U2FP bothering
me about this AGAIN??
Progress is being made-in research and in Washington.
All-out effort can produce all-out change.
Todd's Story: Evolution of a One-Man Army
is the remarkable tale of a new advocate who has persuaded
20 legislators to cosponsor the CRPA!
We are succeeding. Since the Working 2 Walk Rally in May, cosponsor numbers in the Senate have gone up 20%. Cosponsors in the House of Representatives have gone up 40%! We're closer than we've ever been before. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of hope. All we have to do is work to turn hope into reality.
Unite 2 Fight Paralysis is in this fight until the end, and we
can't afford to lose. We've developed a 3-pronged plan to get the
CRPA onto the Congressional radar. First, a bit of basic Congress
info for you:
- Pre-election: Your legislators are on a break from Washington
while they campaign for themselves and their parties. The staffers
working in their local district offices aren't allowed to participate
in campaign activities. They're sitting by the phones and they want
to hear what their constituents are thinking.
- Election Day is November 7
- Post-election: Known as "lame-duck session" in Washington.
Newly elected legislators plan to move in; those that are retiring or
that lost elections will be finishing up old business and preparing
for new chapters in their lives.
Our strategy:
Pre-election, contact your legislator's district office and ask
them to support the CRPA. With our easy
phone scripts
and
copy and paste emails,
it will only take a few minutes for you to make a difference.
District office contact information is quickly available
here. (Enter your
zip code in the box, select your legislator, get the Main District
Office Contact info.)
Just this once, ask your friends and your family to do the same.
Make them hear us!
On November 16 a delegation of volunteers is visiting the DC
offices of the chairmen of the committees that have the CRPA blocked.
That same day, a group from
Carecure (a
website for people with spinal cord injuries) has organized a
full-scale phone-in blitz to those same Congressmen. We will send you
the information beforehand. We promise it will be easy for you to
participate. IT WILL GET US NOTICED.
The brutal reality is that only 3% of bills introduced to Congress are passed into law. OUR REALITY IS THAT THE CRPA NEEDS TO BE PASSED THIS YEAR. WE WON'T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT.
We leave you with some quotes about hope. First, from a wonderful
movie, The Shawshank Redemption.
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And a good thing never dies."
Finally, from a Canadian friend who has been paralyzed 20
years...
"Never give up hope, or you're already dead."
It's not time to quit, it's time to fight. See you at the finish
line!
Sincerely,
Unite 2 Fight Paralysis
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