Activists Speak Up During August Recess

MS Activists meet with staff from Sen. Cantwell’s office

Activists across the chapter took part in August recess visits to their members of Congress. A group of Seattle activists met with U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell’s Legislative Counsel for Health, Nico Janssen. Jonathan Sari writes:

"As MS activists, we shared our stories and thanked the Senator for supporting NIH funding and joining the MS Caucus. We asked for support for CDMRP and FDA funding, co-sponsorship for the Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act, and her vote on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Nico took our materials, took notes, and reminded us of the Senator's “yes” vote for the treaty the previous times it was up for a vote. All-in-all, he was quite supportive and understood the needs of the MS community. We got a photo for the blog and booked a successful meeting."

Congratulations to our activists on a successful visit! If you’re interested in conducting a meeting with a local, state, or federal legislator, contact us.

Bike MS cyclists voted and the results are in!

At this year's Bike MS: Deception Pass Classic, our MS activists built on the momentum generated at Walk MS this past spring by polling participants on which policy issue they think matters most to the MS community, asking "What's the most important thing politicians could be doing to help people living with MS?"

Nearly 150 cyclists voted in our poll. Sixty-nine percent ranked ensuring affordable and adequate health care coverage as the most important issue, followed by increasing funding for MS research (22%) and funding accessible transportation (9%).

Cyclists also took photos in our advocacy photo booth (view more photos from the booth) and signed up to receive Action Alerts. Welcome to our newest activists and thank you to Walt Corneille, Lisa Boon, and Martin Boon for their help at the booth.