Posted on February 27, 2017
Marilyn Amento in the US Senate. Photo Credit: Earl Dotter
Asbestos legislation and regulation is so very important. We came so far during the last Congressional Session with the passage of TSCA Reform Legislation, which gave the EPA the power to prioritize 10 chemicals. The EPA chose asbestos as one of the top 10 chemicals. This was HUGE! However, with the new Administration, all that progress, which took decades to achieve, is in danger of being washed away.
We cannot afford to become complacent. Put asbestos issues at the forefront of the minds of our U.S. Senators or Congressional Representative. They cannot read minds. Do not assume that because our Senators or Representatives are Republicans or Democrats that they will vote the “right” way. Make your opinion known. We must keep asbestos on the minds of our elected officials – Federal, State, and Local.
Here are some concrete actions that we can all take to keep asbestos at the forefront of Congressional thought.
- CALL CONGRESS DAILY
- Visit Legislators Monthly
- Form a Rapid Response Team
- Run for office
- Spread information
CALL CONGRESS DAILY – 202-225-3121: We must all call Congress every day and make it part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth. It will take just TWO MINUTES!
Don’t underestimate the power that we have as U.S. Citizens! If a Congressional Office receives 10 or 100 calls on an issue that will make an impact.
Call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-225-3121 (or 202-224-3121 if busy). Better yet, call each Congressional Office directly.
U.S. Senate: http://bit.ly/1kyGkev
U.S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/representatives/
Smart Phone Apps for Calling Congress:
There are many apps for your Smart Phone that will make it easy for you to contact your U.S. Congressional Representatives and Senators. These apps vary depending on whether you have an Apple iPhone or an Android.
To find one that works for you, enter “CONGRESS APPS” in your search engine.
Call your Congressional Representatives directly from an app called “Starlight”. It was a free Apple app that I downloaded. I simply entered my zip code and my 2 U.S. Senators and my Congressman’s contact info was provided.
I also purchased, though am not endorsing, “Call the Halls” app for $10 which is available for both Android and Apple devices.
A former Congressional Staffer developed the app in 2017. The creator had written numerous popular post-election Tweets on how to best communicate with Congress. She made the Tweets into an app. It’s a downloadable PDF guide including worksheets to track your progress, scripts, contact info, DO’s and DON’Ts re professional staffers.
Proposed Agenda for a Week of Calling Daily
Here’s what a sample week of your CALLING DAILY may look like:
On Monday, call your Congressman/woman and tell them to oppose the FACT act. Although this legislation has failed for years, it seems to be reintroduced with every Congress.
On Tuesday, call the first of your two U.S. Senators demanding a NO vote on dissolving the EPA.
On Wednesday, call your other U.S. Senator. Ask them to sponsor legislation to ban asbestos.
On Thursday, call your State House/Assembly Representative or your local City Council and tell them to sponsor legislation regarding building demolition to ensure asbestos is not released in communities.
On Friday, call your State Senator. Tell him you want him to sponsor legislation to ban asbestos in your State. Imagine if one State banned asbestos. Major manufacturers will be forced to change their products, perhaps not just for one State but all States.
If you’d rather write to your reps, you can find the best way to do that for each of them here by typing in your address on: democracy.io.
Remember — A call a day may keep ASBESTOS away.
THE MONTHLY VISIT: To add even more pressure, VISIT CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES! Your member of Congress has a local office in your town or somewhere nearby as do both of your U.S. Senators (often in the nearest federal building). Go there and ask to speak to their aide about the issues we’re facing.
Don’t forget to visit the local office (or the State Capitol office) of your State Representative/Assemblyperson, and your State Senator.
If you live within driving or Amtrak distance of Washington, DC, show up on Capitol Hill and pay an unannounced visit to your U.S. Senators and your Congressperson. Serious attention is given to constituent visits. Just do it!
Not everyone has time to do THE MONTHLY VISIT — but if you can, please do!
BUILD A RAPID RESONSE TEAM: You and 5 to 20 friends and family members can become your personal ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH RAPID RESPONSE TEAM. A simple way to accomplish this is to form a group through http://www.Meetup.com. Invite friends to sign up for the group and plan for when imminent action is needed. Members of other Meetup group may also join your group if you put such terms as “asbestos”, “mesothelioma”, “asbestosis”, “EPA”, “FACT Act”, etc. in the group’s description. Once the Meetup group is formed, sponsor a MeetUp event at a restaurant that has free Wi-Fi and will let you use a room (such as Panera). Have participants bring their laptops so you all can write to your Congress Members and Senators, etc. Perhaps plan a group trip to legislative offices, or a group phone session where you call citizens or legislators to raise awareness or call to action.
CONSIDER RUNNING FOR OFFICE: Good candidates who understand the ravages of asbestos disease must run for elective office — and not just Congress and State Houses, but also Mayors, city councils, and county commissions. Why not start a petition and run next year?
Check out “How to Run for Political Office” at http://bit.ly/2mnhKZQ.
YOU MUST SPREAD INFORMATION: Knowledge is POWER! ADAO has a wealth of information. You can also have alerts on the topic of asbestos sent to your via email. I have set up a Google search that informs me daily of articles containing the word “asbestos”. I share information from ADAO, the Google articles and pictures on a Facebook Page called “Asbestos: Be Smart. Be Safe.” I added elected officials, interested citizens, and friends to the Facebook group and share the articles with them on a weekly or monthly basis.
In addition to Facebook, share asbestos information on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media sites. Make sure all your friends and family are signed up.
You can also be your own news anchor, reporter, and editor on your own news network via Facebook Live!
Don’t forget “Letters to the Editor”.
Write Letters to the Editor to alert your community of legislative and community issues relating to asbestos. But, it’s not only important to write Letters to the Editor, it is also important to read them and your local newspaper, including meeting announcements. I made the mistake of not checking the paper for a few weeks. To my dismay, a public hearing was held about paving a patch of an asbestos dump for a parking lot. I found out by accident, when I was taking a documentary film crew to show them the future site of a condominium complex. Soil was already moved by big machinery and sewer lines were already installed. Had I been aware of the hearing by checking the local paper, I would have attended the meeting with a few friends and raised opposition to it. I fell asleep on the job.
There is something for everyone to do in this critical fight against asbestos and asbestos-related disease. And each one of us needs to do them. Please share this and spread the word. We can put an end to the asbestos scourge, but it requires ALL HANDS ON DECK – everyone’s help is needed immediately, before damaging laws are enacted.
Let’s get asbestos banned and protect asbestos victims, their families and communities.
By Marilyn Amento, Eastern Regional Co-Director