If you've ever been inclined to write your Congressional representatives on an important issue, this is the time to act.

In July U.S. Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA) and Mike Rogers (R-MI) introduced the National Pain Care Policy Act (HR 2994) in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill calls for increased research on pain treatments, training for health care professionals, a pain consortium in the National Institutes of Health, an Institute of Medicine conference on pain care and a public education and awareness campaign.

In introducing this important legislation, Rep. Rogers said, "The need for education, access and research regarding chronic pain care has long been at the crisis stage and we need to move forward with finding solutions."

As chronically ill people, we owe it to ourselves and each other to throw our support behind this important initiative. We need to strongly encourage our representatives in the House to support this bill and ask our senators to introduce this legislation on their side.

Congress.org is my favorite resource for quick and effective communication with your legislators. Just by entering your zip code you can find an accurate list of your federal representatives (House, Senate and President). You can search for topically relevant messages or compose a unique letter that encompasses your views on the subject. The system allows you to send the same letter to all of your representatives or a custom combination of people in a snap. The website is completely free, though you can pay extra to have your letters snail mailed if you prefer.

Technorati Tags: policy, pain, american pain foundation, congress, legislation, depression, migraines, chronic illness, health, somebody heal me

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