Advocacy Resource Guide

The following websites and publications may be useful sources of additional information on advocacy. Many of the organizations' websites contain issue descriptions, updates, and talking points on current advocacy efforts. The governmental website "Thomas" is useful for tracking the status of legislation, reading actual bill language, and determining if members of Congress have sponsored or co-sponsored priority bills. Most members of Congress also have their own websites.

Federal Websites  
U.S. House of Representatives   www.house.gov
U.S. Senate   www.senate.gov
Library of Congress information on bills in Congress (THOMAS)   thomas.loc.gov
Department of Health and Human Services   www.hhs.gov
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (Formerly HCFA)   www.cmms.gov
 
State Websites
State and local government information   www.loc.gov/rr/news/stategov/stategov.html
 
Critical Partners    
American Hospital Association   www.aha.org
Catholic Charities USA   www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
Children's Health Matters   www.childrenshealthmatters.org
LeadingAge™ (formerly AAHSA)   leadingage.org/
NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby   www.networklobby.org
Supportive Care Coalition   www.supportivecarecoalition.org/
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops   http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catholic-education/advocacy/
 
Additional Resources for Advocacy Information
American Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy   www.academyhealth.org
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research   www.aei.org
Center for Budget Policy and Priorities   www.cbpp.org
Families USA   www.familiesUSA.org
Heritage Foundation   www.heritage.org
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation   www.rwjf.org
The Commonwealth Fund   www.commonwealthfund.org/
The Kaiser Family Foundation   www.kff.org

e-Advocacy
Please visit the e-Advocacy section of the CHA website to get assistance in your grassroots efforts. The program allows you to e-mail members of Congress or print a hard copy on your letterhead to be faxed. Form letters and speaking points also are provided for your personalization and use. e-Advocacy automatically identifies your members of Congress when you log in, providing you with photos, contact information, occupation information, staff information, committee rosters, and congressional leadership information. The program also provides health-related bill tracking and other resources.