Our advocates did it!
They helped us secure 291 members of the U.S. House of Representatives as co-sponsors of the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA). It’s a terrific way to celebrate our last week of Ectodermal Dysplasias Awareness Month!
This is what they call a super majority. AND we did it exactly one year to the day it was re-introduced in Congress on February 26, 2019. To help put this in perspective, many bills take many years to garner this level of support.
What This Means for ELSA
Now that we have reached the supermajority of at least 290 co-sponsors, which is two-thirds of the entire House, ELSA potentially has an easier path to move forward as a candidate for the House Consensus Calendar.
If placed on this calendar, the House committees of jurisdiction have a period of 25 legislative days to determine if they would like to hold a markup session or if they would like to waive that action.
Garnering 290 cosponsors does not mean that ELSA has passed the House of Representatives or has been voted on. It simply means that ELSA has garnered enough support to expand our sponsors’ options to continue pushing the bill forward. And this is a great thing!
But, we don’t stop now.
For the Senate, we still need 29 senators to co-sponsor ELSA to hit the super majority number of 67. If your senator is on this list, please contact them today.
Check Senate List and Make the CallFor the House, we continue to seek additional support. Every rep who co-sponsors builds support for this bill.
Check House List and Make the CallAttend Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill
Families telling their stories at our annual Day on the Hill have been a huge success in getting Congress on board for ELSA. Who can not be moved when a child or teenager affected by ectodermal dysplasia has the spirit and courage to sit and tell their story and share their challenges of having missing teeth?
This year’s Day on the Hill is Wednesday, June 24th. We strategically combined it with our annual Family Conference so that families had the opportunity to attend both of these important events.
To get the final senators and reps to sign on, we need families from all 50 states at our Day on the Hill. As of now, we only have 16 states represented.
We understand that travel to D.C. is not always cheap. Therefore, we are offering travel stipends. You must apply for your travel stipend by 4 p.m. CST this Friday, February 28.
This of all years is the one we truly need you in D.C.
Apply for Travel StipendWe thank each and every one of you who has made a phone call, sent an email or attended a Day on the Hill. You are the ones who helped us hit this milestone.
Next goal: Supermajority in the Senate!