Bring the Light, Bring the Heat:
Tell Congress Prevention Works

Welcome to Week 4 of our August Recess Campaign for Community Prevention! Next week, Congress will return from its annual summer recess and the struggle over funding for the Affordable Care Act will resume. The Prevention and Public Health Fund, a key component of ACA, is at special risk, since opponents of health reform have targeted it for cuts again and again. We know we can’t cut corners when it comes to our health so it's critical that we take a stand now and demand that Congress preserve prevention funding.

So today, we’re asking you to reach out to your elected representatives and tell them how important prevention is to you. Our simple tool makes it easy for you to tell your elected officials exactly why prevention matters to you, and how it’s working where you live. The great thing about our Health Reform Rapid Response Network is that we have so many stories to tell. As prevention champions, you know that prevention is more than a theory – you’ve seen firsthand how families and communities benefit from it.

Letters like this matter, as we hear from elected officials all the time. Letters from constituents can push Congressional supporters to adopt a more vigorous defense and fence-sitters to come over to the side of prevention. They may even nudge opponents to soften their stance. Please take five minutes to send an email to your Congresspeople. Don’t forget to select your favorite talking point, or drop in your own paragraph before hitting send. And, thank you for being a part of our August Recess Campaign for Community Prevention.

Next week, we'll wrap up the campaign by sharing some of the letters to the editor and Op-Eds we've seen around the country this August.