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Testimony
VCACC Support the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
VCACC has signed on as supporters of federal legislation H.R. 1108/S. 625, the "Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act." This legislation, which the ACC has long supported through work with the Partners for Effective Tobacco Policy (PARTNERS), would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, sale, labeling, advertising and promotion of tobacco products to protect the public health.
The legislation has moved further in this Congress than in the past and the goal is to achieve enactment this year. It has 55 Senate cosponsors and was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee last summer. It has 218 House cosponsors and is expected to be marked up by the House Energy and Commerce Committee this spring. It is sponsored by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and John Cornyn (R-TX), and Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA).
The legislation has a broad base of support from the patient and health professions community working to promote it. With the legislation moving closer to passage, the involvement of more supporters- including ACC chapters- can make a big difference.
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ACC Action
When Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess, there will be just four weeks to pass a bill to reverse the 10% Medicare reimbursment cut. The White House has given lawmakers until June 16 to pass legislation to prevent administrative and payment difficulties for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The ACC urges you to contact your senators and ask them to support 18 months of positive Medicare physician payments, and ask them not to use cuts to medical imaging payments to offset new costs. To support the efforts of your colleagues in preventing physician payment cuts, contact your senators with the ACC's toll-free Grassroots Hotline at (800) 210-7193.