arthritis.org/advocacy
Saying
YES
to Advocacy
Advocacy
Toolkit for
Young Adults
Why Is Advocacy
Important?
In Your Community
Social Media
There are many ways to get involved and make a difference
You can participate in advocacy right from your smartphone or
Advocacy is not just asking for something from your elected officials.
right in your own community. Speaking to your elected officials
computer! Just be sure to get a parent’s permission before going
It’s about making a real difference in their understanding of the
isn’t the only way to make a real difference.
online or using social media.
challenges people with arthritis face every day.
• Help out at an advocacy booth at your local Walk to Cure
Arthritis or Jingle Bell Run event.
Learning to be an Advocate will give you the confidence to tell
• When you turn 18, join the Arthritis Foundation’s Ambassador
your personal arthritis story and help educate elected officials
program. Ambassadors are volunteers who form relationships
about arthritis.
with their state and federal elected officials, share their story
Telling Your Story
Arthritis is often misunderstood. How many times have people told
and tell them why addressing arthritis issues is important.
Ambassadors have activities throughout the year that help
advance the Arthritis Foundation’s advocacy work.
you, “You have arthritis? That’s an old person’s disease!” – and you
• Register to vote! The voting age is 18.
have had to educate them? Oftentimes, policymakers have the same
• Ask your friends and family to sign up to become Advocates.
misconception. When speaking to your elected officials, it’s very
A sign-up form can be found at www.arthritis.org/advocacy.
important to tell your story so that policymakers can understand that
Tell your story in front of your local Optimist Club, YMCA,
kids get arthritis, too!
civic leaders and others. All politics starts at the local level,
The Arthritis Foundation has a special advocacy hashtag
(#AdvocateforArthritis). You can use the hashtag all the time,
not just when you are participating in advocacy activities. When
you are posting about arthritis, use the hashtag to tag your
elected officials. Below are a few social media messaging
examples:
Twitter
• @YourRep Kids get arthritis too! Support H.R. 1859
for loan repayments for pediatric rheumatologists
#AdvocateforArthritis
• @YourRep Support H.R. 1600 to lower costs of vital
medications #AdvocateforArthritis
so sharing your story with your local officials will help bring
Every time you tell your story, it gets easier and helps you become
more confident and grow as a young arthritis Advocate. Policymakers
need to see how you were able to turn many struggles of No into
actions of Yes. By telling your story, you are sharing why arthritis is a
significant challenge. You can help members of Congress learn why
they should support arthritis-related legislation or join the Arthritis
more attention to the cause.
• Join your Debate Club, Youth in Government or other civicsrelated clubs at your school.
• Attend an Arthritis Foundation lobby day at your state
capitol. Information can be found on your local
office’s website.
Caucus. Your story can help change the lives of everyone with arthritis
Be Sure to
say That
Kids Get
Arthritis,
Too!
How Do I Tell My Story?
You might be thinking, “What do people want to know about arthritis?”
Since arthritis is so misunderstood, be sure to give your elected officials
as much information as you feel comfortable sharing.
You can start telling your story by thinking about these questions:
• What is life like living with arthritis every day?
• How does arthritis affect your family?
• What can’t you do because of arthritis?
• What would it mean to you to have a cure for arthritis?
Arthritis Foundation - 2 - Young Adult Advocacy Toolkit
YourRep #AdvocateforArthritis
Facebook
You can make a big impact on Facebook by finding and
friending your elected officials. You can post about how arthritis
affects your day to day activities and your treatments and tag
the elected officials in your post. Many elected officials do not
when elected officials pass legislation that preserves access to lifechanging, even lifesaving, treatments.
• Support kids with arthritis by joining the Arthritis Caucus @
The Arthritis
Foundation holds
a yearly Advocacy
Summit in Washington,
DC! The Summit brings
together Advocates
and Ambassadors of
all ages to learn how to be better Advocates,
meet others with arthritis who are interested
in advocacy, and share your story with your
members of Congress. There’s also a Kids’
Summit for those in kindergarten through 8th
grade. The 2016 Advocacy Summit is planned
for March 14 and 15 in the nation’s capital.
know what treatments are required for many types of arthritis, so
showing them makes the issue come alive. Sample posts can be:
• Getting an infusion today and missing school. Please
YOUR REP, become a member of the Congressional
Arthritis Caucus
• Today I played soccer thanks to my biologic medications.
Please support H.R. 1600: The Patients’ Access to Treatments
Act, YOUR REP.
•Kids get arthritis too! Today I’m walking in my local Walk
to Cure Arthritis. Please join the Congressional Arthritis
Caucus,YOUR REP!
Government 101
Arthritis
Foundation Work
A caucus is a group where members of Congress get to learn
The Arthritis Foundation is working in Congress and in the states
about important issues. The Congressional Arthritis Caucus
to make sure our elected officials know arthritis is a serious
educates senators and representatives about arthritis and the
The Constitution divided the government into three branches: legislative,
disease that needs attention. Below are three issues we work
problems people face. Advocates and Arthritis Foundation staff
executive and judicial. That was an important decision because it gave specific
on and suggestions on how YOU can help!
present information to the Caucus, helping members of Congress
powers to each branch and set up something called checks and balances. Just
CONGRESSIONAL ARTHRITIS CAUCUS
THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
and their staff understand what arthritis is all about and discussing
INCREASE ACCESS TO PEDIATRIC
RHEUMATOLOGISTS
like it sounds, the point of checks and balances was to make sure no single
ways to help.
branch would have too much control, creating what’s called a separation of
Many children and parents have to travel far distances to
How YOU Can Help:
powers. Here are some examples of how the different branches work together:
see a pediatric rheumatologist. Pediatric rheumatologists are
Ask your representative and senators to join the Congressional
specially trained to help children with arthritis, so it’s important
Arthritis Caucus. Tell your personal story and let them know that
to have them easily available. The Ensuring Children’s Access
one out of every five Americans has doctor-diagnosed arthritis.
to Specialty Care Act of 2015 would provide student loan
Tell them there are periodic briefings to educate members of
repayment for doctors who become pediatric rheumatologists.
a presidential veto. This means it can no longer become a law because of the president’s decision.
Congress about arthritis and that you would really appreciate
However, the legislative branch can override that veto with enough votes.
•The legislative branch makes laws, but the president in the executive branch can veto those laws with
their support.
How YOU Can Help:
Write to your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor
the legislation. Tell them about having to travel a long distance to
State Issues
see your pediatric rheumatologist. Sharing your personal
The Arthritis Foundation also works at the state level to pass
story highlights why real people like you need them to support
important legislation that helps people with arthritis. All states
this legislation.
are different, so one state might have several bills related to
arthritis, and another might have only one. Begin building
THE PATIENTS’ ACCESS TO TREATMENTS
ACT (H.R. 1600)
The Patients’ Access to Treatments Act is a bill in the House of
Representatives that would help people with arthritis be able to
afford important medications. Often, expensive arthritis drugs
relationships with your state’s elected officials and tell them
•While the legislative branch makes laws, the judicial branch can declare
those laws unconstitutional.
•The executive branch, through federal departments and agencies, has responsibility for day-to-day
enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and
responsibilities that vary widely, from environmental protection to protecting the nation’s borders.
your personal story so they can advocate for you. Visit www.
arthritis.org/advocacy to track legislation in your state and find
out how you can help.
•The legislative branch has the power to approve presidential nominations, control the budget and
can impeach the president, removing him or her from office.
are placed on what is called a “specialty tier,” and people with
other drugs. The bill would limit how much a person with arthritis
would pay for drugs placed in a specialty tier.
How YOU Can Help:
Call or write your representative and ask him or her to cosponsor the Patients’ Access to Treatments Act. Tell your story of
how arthritis affects your life. Also, let the representative know
that the legislation would assist others who need access to cost-
YOU
Can
Do It!
•The executive branch can declare executive orders, which are like proclamations that carry the force of
law. But the judicial branch can declare those acts unconstitutional.
•The judicial branch interprets laws, but the president nominates Supreme Court justices, court of
appeals judges and district court judges who make the evaluations. The Senate in the legislative branch
confirms the president’s nominations for judicial positions, and Congress can impeach any of those
judges and remove them from office.
effective treatments to help them live better with arthritis.
Arthritis Foundation - 4 - Young Adult Advocacy Toolkit
Arthritis Foundation - 5 - Young Adult Advocacy Toolkit
(taken from http://bensguide.gpo.gov/j-check-balance)
arthritis have to pay a lot more for these drugs than they do
Government 101
Important Vocabulary
HOW LAWS ARE MADE
How is a law actually made? What does the whole process look like? Well, it depends
Here are some of the basic words and phrases that we’ll encounter when talking about how
on what type of law we’re talking about. For this example, we’ll look at how a bill first
laws, especially federal laws, are made:
introduced in the House of Representatives becomes a public law.
Act: Legislation that has passed both houses of Congress and has been either approved by
the president, or has passed in Congress despite the president’s veto, thus becoming law.
1. When a representative has an idea for a new law, he or she
6. Just as in the House, the introduced bill is assigned to a committee.
becomes the sponsor of that bill and introduces it by giving it to
It is assigned to one of the Senate’s 20 standing committees by the
the clerk of the U.S. House or by placing it in the hopper. The clerk
presiding officer. The Senate committee studies and either releases
assigns a legislative number to the bill (starting with “H.R.” for bills
or tables the bill, just like the House standing committee.
Bill: Formally introduced legislation. Most ideas for new laws, called legislative proposals,
are in the form of bills and are labeled as H.R. (House of Representatives) or S. (Senate),
depending on where they are introduced. The bills are also numbered in the order they are
introduced during each congressional session. For example, a bill might be called H.R. 10
introduced in the House of Representatives).
if it’s the tenth bill introduced in the House of Representatives, or S. 42 if it’s the forty-second
7. Once released, the bill goes to the Senate floor for consideration.
2. Next, the bill is assigned to a committee by the speaker of the
Bills are voted on in the Senate based on the order in which they
House so that it can be studied. The House has 22 standing
come from the committee; however, an urgent bill may be pushed
committees, and each of these committees focuses on a different
ahead by leaders of the majority party. When the Senate considers
area of law. The standing committee, or one of its subcommittees,
the bill, they can vote on it indefinitely. When there is no more
studies the bill and hears testimony from experts and people
debate, the bill is voted on. If 51 of 100 senators vote for it, the bill
interested in the bill. The committee then takes one of three actions:
passes by simple majority.
bill introduced in the Senate. Public bills deal with matters that affect the general public, and
become public laws or acts if approved by Congress and signed by the president.
Committee(s): Committees are groups of members of Congress appointed to investigate,
debate and report on legislation. Standing committees are the most common type of
committee; they consider bills and other legislation that is before the House or the Senate.
Subcommittees are subsets of a standing committee that are established for the purpose
release the bill with a recommendation to pass it; revise the bill and
release it; or lay it aside so that the House cannot vote
of dividing the committee’s workload. The recommendations of a subcommittee must be
8. The bill then moves to a conference committee, which is made up
approved by the full committee before being reported to the Senate or House.
on it. Releasing the bill is called reporting it out; laying it aside is
of members from each house. The committee may work out any
called tabling.
differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The
Congress: The two houses of the legislative branch of the federal government: the U.S.
revised bill is sent back to both houses for their final approval. The
Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. There are currently 100 U.S. senators, 435
clerk of the House certifies the final version. If a bill originates in the
U.S. representatives, five delegates and one resident commissioner. Congress is also referred
Senate, the secretary of the Senate certifies the final version.
to as a bicameral legislature because of its two legislative houses or chambers.
3. If no one speaks against the bill, it may be passed by a two-thirds
vote in Congress in certain cases.
4. The bill then goes to the floor of the House for consideration and
and then the vice president. Finally, it is sent for the president’s
complete reading). If 218 of the 435 representatives vote for it to
consideration. The president has 10 days to sign or veto the
pass, the bill passes by simple majority and moves to the Senate.
enrolled bill. If the president signs the bill, it becomes law. If the
president vetoes it, the bill can still become law if two-thirds of the
Senate and two-thirds of the House vote in favor of it.
recognized by the presiding officer and announce the
introduction of the bill.
Arthritis Foundation - 6 - Young Adult Advocacy Toolkit
(taken from http://bensguide.gpo.gov/how-laws-are-made)
begins with a complete reading of the bill (sometimes this is the only
5. In order to be introduced in the Senate, a senator must be
Federal: About or relating to the central, national government of the United States.
9. The enrolled bill is now signed by the speaker of the House
Legislation: A law or a body (set) of laws.
Resolution: A proposal approved by either or both houses of Congress which, except for
joint resolutions signed by the president, does not have the force of law.
Veto: The constitutional procedure that happens when the president does not sign a bill or
joint resolution into law. It can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the House and
the Senate.
Arthritis Foundation - 7 - Young Adult Advocacy Toolkit
Champion of Yes
arthritis.org