Call your Representatives TODAY and tell them to remove section 722 from the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act! The full House Appropriations Committee will vote on the bill starting tomorrow morning, so today is our last chance to make our voices heard. Banning the use of electric shock for behavioral control is essential for our community — we all deserve to be safe from violence. We have a chance to ban this torturous practice with the FDA’s current  proposed rule. Our grassroots advocates sent hundreds of comments in support of the rule, but this rider would take away the FDA’s power to ban the devices. 

We must call and email TODAY and tell Congress to vote NO on Section 722! Our community is running out of time to stop this rider and protect the FDA’s power to ban electric shock devices for behavioral control. Some members of Congress are trying to silence over a decade of advocacy to #StopTheShock. We cannot let them.

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. You can even call more than once before they vote!

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!

One of our best chances at ending the use of electric shock devices is the FDA’s proposed rule released in May, and this rider seeks to take that away. We cannot let Congress ignore years of work and prolong the torture at the Judge Rotenberg Center. We must take action now — call and email your Representatives and tell others to do the same! Your voice is a powerful tool, and together we can finally #StopTheShock.

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035

 

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