Last month, section 722 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act passed at the subcommittee level. This rider would stop the FDA from banning the electric shock devices used at the Judge Rotenberg Center. There are only two days left to call your Representative and tell them to remove Section 722! Our community can’t wait — we must take this critical step toward ending the torturous practice of shocks as behavioral control. Your advocacy will help the FDA keep the power to #StopTheShock once and for all. We need a big push right now to let our Representatives know years of work from our community will not be overlooked!

The full House Appropriations Committee will vote on the bill on THIS WEDNESDAY JULY 10. We have until then to stop this bill and save the FDA’s power to ban electric shock torture. By calling and emailing today, we can take action to #StopTheShock!

First, check to see if your House Representative is on the Appropriations Committee. Check if they are on the member list here. If you are not sure who your Representative is, you can find out by putting in your ZIP Code here. If your Representative is on the Appropriations Committee, call the House switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative’s office. You can say “Please connect me to Representative [first and last name]’s office.” 

Once you are connected to your Representative’s office, you can use our script:

My name is [your full name], and I am from [your city]. I am a constituent of Representative [Name]. I’m calling to ask Representative [Name] to oppose Section 722 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. This rider takes away the FDA’s ability to ban the use of electric skin shock for behavior modification. Only one institution in the country still uses electric shocks this way, and the UN found the practice to be torture in 2013. The FDA’s proposed rule to ban the devices this year received hundreds of public comments in support of the ban, and this bill would take that decision away. The House must make sure the people they represent are heard. Can I count on Representative [Name] to oppose this rider?

If your Representative is not on the House Appropriations Committee, there is still something you can do! You can call the staff leads of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies subcommittee. Their contact information is:

Pam Miller (202-225-2638) and Martha Foley (202-225-3481).

You can use this script to plan what you will say:

My name is [your full name], and I am from [your city]. I am a constituent of Representative [Name]. I’m calling to oppose Section 722 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. This rider takes away the FDA’s ability to ban the use of electric skin shock for behavior modification. Only one institution in the country still uses electric shocks this way, and the UN found the practice to be torture in 2013. The FDA’s proposed rule to ban the devices this year received hundreds of public comments in support of the ban, and this bill would take that decision away. The House must make sure the people they represent are heard. Please do whatever you can to get this rider removed!

Wondering what to expect from a call to your elected officials? Check out this guide to making a call to your Members of Congress. There’s still time to get in multiple calls between now and July 10th!

You can also send #StopTheShock emails using our tool here. If your Representative is on the House Appropriations Committee, you can email their office. If your Representative is not on this committee, you can email the subcommittee staff leads and other Committee staff. Our email tool will automatically email the right people for you. Then, get the word out by sharing on social media!

Our community has fought to #StopTheShock for over a decade, and we must push to make sure Congress listens. Let’s tell our Representatives that when it comes to keeping all of us safe, we refuse to leave anyone behind.

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035

 

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