AGA News
Congressional Advocates Program
This is a grassroots program aimed at establishing a stronger foundation for our current and future advocacy initiatives by creating state teams to work on advocacy on the local, state, and national levels. Participation can include a wide variety of activities that range from creating educational posts on social media to meeting with government representatives. Members are mentored by AGA leadership and staff for advocacy training. Participating members receive an AGA Congressional Advocate Program Certificate, a Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) badge ribbon, policy badge on the AGA Community, and recognition on AGA’s website. Applications for the next cycle will be released in 2019.
AGA PAC
The AGA PAC is a voluntary, nonpartisan political organization affiliated with and supported by AGA and is the only political action committee supported by a national gastroenterology society. Its mission is to give gastroenterologists a greater presence on Capitol Hill and a more effective voice in policy discussions. AGA PAC supports candidates who support our policy priorities, such as fair reimbursement, cutting regulatory red tape, supporting patient protections and access to specialty care, and support for federal funding of digestive disease research. If you are interested in learning more, contact AGA’s Government and Political Affairs Manager, Navneet Buttar, at nbuttar@gastro.org or 240-482-3221.
GovPredict
AGA’s online advocacy platform allows members to contact their members of Congress with just a few clicks. AGA develops messages on key pieces of legislation, key efforts in Congress, or on issues being advanced by federal agencies that have great effects on gastroenterology. The platform also allows AGA to track legislation, key votes, a legislator’s priority issues, and other key legislative activity. AGA can also track member activity with a legislator and their staff, a key component in building and maintaining relationships with key legislators.
References
1. Ehrlich E. United for Medical Research. NIH’S role in sustaining the U.S. economy. https://www.unitedformedicalresearch.com/advocacy_reports/nihs-role-in-sustaining-the-u-s-economy-2017-update/nih-role-in-the-economy-fy2016-2/#.XD9RafZFy5t.
2. AGA. AGA position statement on research funding. https://www.gastro.org/take-action/top-issues/research-funding.
3. El-Serag HB et al. Gastroenterology. 2014 May;146(5):1249-55.e1.
4. White DL et al. Gastroenterology. 2015 Dec;149(7):1986-7.
5. AGA. AGA position statement on patient cost sharing for screening colonoscopy. https://www.gastro.org/take-action/top-issues/patient-cost-sharing-for-screening-colonoscopy.
6. Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2017. S. 479 U.S.C. (2017-2018).
Dr. Natarajan has received clinical trial support from Gilead and Allergan. Dr. Natarajan is a member of the AGA Government Affairs Committee. This feature originally appeared in AGA Perspectives.
