Live from the 25-The Scouring of the Hill
Wednesday is the traditional day during the week that ADAPT scours the Hill. By this, I mean that we visit all 535 members of Congress and the senate and give them information on the Community Choice Act.
This time, it was a bit different. We made a list of each chapter that actually made appointments with their legislators. I made appointments for Rochester with Reps. Walsh, Kuhl, and Reynolds, and Senators Clinton and Schumer. All but Reynolds have signed on to CCA. We did not make an appointment with Rep. Slaughter (another CCA co-sponsor), as she had just visited us at our office in Rochester on the previous Monday.
Anyway, those who had appointments got special packets with detailed information about the Community Choice Act. Rather than gather in groups by color (green, red, etc.), we gathered by state. Rochester alone had 57 people, not counting those folks from New York City, Albany, and Syracuse, so of course, New York State had a huge crowd!
I did not get to go to the visits, as I had to stay behind for the dress rehersal of the I Am ADAPT show. I heard from Terrie that the meetings went well. What I do know is that since those visits, the number of CCA co-sponsors in the House has gone up from 88 to 103! Three members of Congress signed on the day that we visited (April 30th), while eight signed on the very next day (May 1st), and three signed up on May 6th. Five of those co-sponsors were from New York. They are:
Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [NY-11] - 5/1/2008
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - 5/6/2008
Rep Fossella, Vito [NY-13] - 5/6/2008
Rep Meeks, Gregory W. [NY-6] - 4/30/2008
Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. [NY-12] - 5/1/2008
As you can see, Rep. Meeks signed on the day that ADAPT came calling, and Reps. Clark and Velazquez signed on the next day! Keep up the good work, everyone!