Thursday, June 14, 2007

Problem-Response-Solution: Didn't take long for them to spit out legislation in response to XDR-TB fright

The Stop TB Now ACT of 2007 (H.R.1567, S.968)

Full text of the Stop TB Now ACT of 2007

The Stop TB Now Act (H.R.1567) was introduced in the House on March 19 by Representatives Eliot Engel (D-NY), Adam Smith (D-WA), and Heather Wilson (R-NM); Chairman Lantos is a cosponsor. It was introduced in the Senate (S.968) by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR).

The new bill is similar to the Stop Tuberculosis (TB) Now Act of 2006 (H.R.5022), which was introduced in the House last March by Representatives Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Jim Leach (R-IA) — so it should be easy to ask members who were previous sponsors to cosponsor the new bill.

The bill calls for the U.S. to commit the funds and put in place the policies necessary to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halting and reversing the spread of TB. It specifies that the U.S. should strive to halve TB deaths by 2015 and sustain or exceed diagnosis of at least 70 percent of TB cases and cure at least 85 percent of those patients. It puts in place policies to help ensure the most effective investments to achieve these targets.

This bill comes at a key time to help move support for TB to a new level, especially given the recent attention to XDR-TB and its link to AIDS.

Ask Your Representative and Senators to Cosponsor the Stop TB Now ACT
To cosponsor in the House, contact Joe Moser in Rep. Wilson’s office at (202) 225-6316 and Emily Gibbons in Rep. Engel’s office at (202) 225-1464 and Emily.gibbons@mail.house.gov. To cosponsor in the Senate, contact Sean Moore in Sen. Boxer’s office at (202) 224-3553.
For more information about the Stop TB Now Act of 2006, contact Jennifer Maurer at jmaurer@results.org.

For coaching to get your representative to sign on to this important legislation, contact Ken Patterson kpatterson@results.org.

Please also ask your representative to cosponsor the domestic TB bill: Comprehensive TB Elimination Act (H.R.1532).

Previous cosponsors of the Stop TB Now Act in 2006: Wilson (R-NM), Udall (D-NM), Lee (D-CA), McCollum (D-MN), Berman (D-CA), Honda (D-CA), McNulty (D-NY), Crowley (D-NY), McDermott (D-WA), Schakowsky (D-IL), Waxman (D-CA), Miller (D-CA), Inslee (WA), Grijalva (AZ), R. Andrews (D-NJ), Holt (D-NJ), Baird (D-WA), Baldwin (D-WI), Barrow (D-GA), Capps (D-CA), Clyburn (D-SC), Cummings (D-MD), J. Davis (D-FL), S. Davis (D-CA), DeGette (D-CO), Delahunt (D-MA), Dicks (D-WA), Dingell (D-MI), Doggett (D-TX), Edwards (D-TX), Emanuel (D-IL), Eshoo (D-CA), Farr (D-CA), Filner (D-CA), Frank (D-MA), A. Green (D-TX), G. Green (D-TX), Hall (R-TX), Hastings (D-FL), Herseth (D-SD), Inglis (R-SC), Jackson (D-IL), Jefferson (D-LA), Kucinich (D-OH), Larsen (D-WA), Larson (D-CT), Lewis (D-GA), Lofgren (D-CA), Matheson (D-UT), Matsui (D-CA), McCaul (R-TX), McCotter (R-MI), McKinney (D-GA), Meehan (D-MA), Meeks (D-NY), Moran (D-VA), Ortiz (D-TX), Pallone (D-NJ), Pastor (D-AZ), Payne (D-NJ), Price (R-NC), Reichert (R-WA), Reyes (D-TX), Rohrabacher (R-CA), Sanders (I-VT), Saxton (R-NJ), Schwarz (R-MI), Scott (D-GA), Serrano (D-NY), A. Smith (D-WA), C. Smith (R-NJ), Spratt (SC), Stark (D-CA), Tauscher (D-CA), Tierney (D-MA), M. Udall (D-CO), Van Hollen (D-MD), Walsh (R-NY), Waters (D-CA), Wexler (D-FL), Wilson (R-NM), Young (R-AK).

Original article posted here.

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