flickr photo by wilhei55

By the November 22^nd deadline, the Super Committee had not come to terms on a plan to cut the $1.2 trillion as proposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

Health center advocates have been hard at work expressing the importance of keeping health center funding, but with this deadline passing, there is still no clear view as to what will happen.  If no deal happens, automatic cuts equaling the $1.2 trillion will occur to defense and domestic program funding.

President Obama has urged Congress to come up with a new way to carry out these budget cuts, but as everyone knows – 2012 is almost here, and 2012 is a campaign year.  Signs of any bipartisan deal happening soon are just not there.

As health center advocates, we have an important role to not only push for a deal, but also a deal that includes full funding for health centers.

Our patients depend on it.

No deal has been agreed upon, which means our job is not over.  Stay in touch with what you can do to advocate for Indiana’s health centers by
1) Signing up for our Advocacy eNewsletter; and
2) Contacting Indiana’s legislators on Capitol Hill.

Here is a list of Indiana’s legislators with links to their websites and how to get a hold of them through social media!

U.S. Senate

- Dan Coats: @SenDanCoats | Dan Coats on Facebook

- Richard Lugar: @senatorlugar | Richard Lugar on Facebook

U.S. House of Representatives

- Larry Buschon: @RepLarryBuschon | Larry Buschon on Facebook

- Dan Burton: @RepDanBurton | Dan Burton on Facebook

- André Carson: @RepAndreCarson | Andre Carson on Facebook

- Joe Donnelly: @RepDonnelly | Joe Donnelly on Facebook

- Mike Pence: @RepMikePence | Mike Pence on Facebook

- Todd Rokita: @ToddRokita | Todd Rokita on Facebook

- Marlin Stutzman: @RepStutzman | Marlin Stutzman on Facebook

- Pete Visclosky: @RepVisclosky | Pete Visclosky on Facebook

- Todd Young: @RepToddYoung | Todd Young on Facebook

Stay tuned for ways to advocate for our health centers and outreach programs!  You can also stay up-to-date by signing up to receive health center, Homeless Initiative Program, and/or Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families updates via email!

Today, we’re in the midst of the same process, only we are switching to the other side of Capitol Hill.  The deadline for SENATORS to submit a programmatic request is THIS FRIDAY, June 10^th.  But, there is also an easier way for Indiana Senators Lugar and Coats to show support without submitting a request.

photo by Ewan McGregor

Senator Stabenow (D-MI) and Senator Boozman (R-AR) worked together to come up with a document just like their House counterparts Bilirakis (R-FL) and Pallone (D-NJ) did a couple weeks ago.  A ‘Dear Colleague’ letter is available for Senators to co-sign by the end of the business day tomorrow!!

Ideally, full Indiana support for the Health Centers Program would be for Sen. Lugar and Sen. Coats to co-sign the Stabenow-Boozman letter AND submit their own programmatic requests.

HealthNet and other Indiana community health centers have always shown great numbers for advocacy, and these next few weeks are critical for ramping up efforts for our FY2012 funding, particularly after the dramatic cuts we received earlier this year.  Call, email, and fax a letter to each of these Senators to let them know how many patients (voters) they will be helping by showing support for our Health Centers Program!

In order to sign on to the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter, Republican Senators can contact Kathee Facchiano in Sen. Boozman’s office at 202-224-4843 and Democrat Senators may contact Alex Sheff in Sen. Stabenow’s office at 202-224-4822.

Take action today, and help your health center’s patients receive great care while also saving the state health care system money!!