Update on the Stillbirth and SUID Prevention, Education and Awareness Act

Dear Friends,

First Candle, together with the CJ Foundation for SIDS, would like to update you on advocacy efforts related to S.1445 and H.R.3212 – the Stillbirth and SUID Prevention, Education and Awareness Act.

As of today, 27 members have joined Congressman Pallone as co-sponsors in the House and 11 Senators have joined Senator Lautenberg as co-sponsors in the Senate. The next step is for the bills to be reviewed in committee.

• The Health Committee will review S.1445 in the Senate
• The Energy and Commerce Committee will review H.R.3212 in the House

It is crucial for the bill to first gain widespread support of the members of these committees to move forward. With that goal in mind, two events are being planned:

• A Congressional Staff Breakfast on May 18, 2010, to educate staff on the importance of better data collection to understand the reasons for these deaths.
• A concerted effort for families to meet with their Senators and Representatives in their DC offices after the breakfast to encourage their support and co-sponsorship.

Use the list below to see if your Senators or Representatives are members of these two committees. If they are, would you be willing to come to DC on May 18, 2010 and meet with them in their offices? Meeting face to face with families has been the most powerful tool in gaining support for the Stillbirth and SUID Prevention, Education and Awareness Act.

If you are interested, please contact Marian Sokol at marian@firstcandle.org or Laura Crandall at laura@sudc.org. We can provide guidance and support in coordinating with other families, scheduling meetings and preparing you for the meeting. These meetings should be initiated in the next week.

We thank you in advance for your support of this important effort.

Members of the Health Committee (House) and the Energy and Commerce Committee (Senate):

House/Senate	First Name	Last Name	State	Co-Sponsor
House	Parker	Griffith	AL
Senate	Lisa	Murkowski	AK
House	Mike	Ross	AR
Senate	John	McCain	AZ
House	John	Shadegg	AZ
House	Mary	Bono Mack	CA
House	Lois	Capps	CA	Co-Sponsor
House	Anna	Eshoo	CA
House	Jane	Harman	CA
House	Doris	Matsui	CA
House	Jerry	McNerney	CA
House	George	Radanovich	CA
House	Henry	Waxman	CA
Senate	Michael	Bennet	CO
House	Diana	DeGette	CO	Co-Sponsor
Senate	Christopher	Dodd	CT
House	Christopher	Murphy	CT
House	Kathy	Castor	FL
House	Cliff	Stearns	FL
House	John	Barrow	GA
House	Phil	Gingrey	GA
Senate	Johnny	Isakson	GA
House	Bruce	Braley	IA	Co-Sponsor
House	Tom	Harkin	IA
House	Bobby	Rush	IL
House	Jan	Schakowsky	IL	Co-Sponsor
House	John	Shimkus	IL
House	Steve	Buyer	IN
House	Baron	Hill	IN
Senate	Pat	Roberts	KS
House	Ed	Whitfield	KY
House	Charlie	Melancon	LA
House	Steve	Scalise	LA
House	Edward	Markey	MA
House	Barbara	Mikulski	MD
House	John	Sarbanes	MD
House	Mike	Rogers	MI
House	Bart	Stupak	MI
House	Fred	Upton	MI
House	John	Dingell	MI
Senate	Al	Franken	MN
House	Roy	Blunt	MO
Senate	Richard	Burr	NC
House	G.K.	Butterfield	NC
Senate	Kay	Hagan	NC
House	Sue	Wilkins Myrick	NC
House	Lee	Terry	NE
Sentate	Judd	Gregg	NH
House	Frank	Pallone	NJ	Sponsor
Senate	Jeff	Bingaman	NM
House	Eliot	Engel	NY
House	Anthony	Weiner	NY
Senate	Sherrod	Brown	OH
House	Robert	Latta	OH
House	Zachary	Space	OH
House	Betty	Sutton	OH
House	Zachary	Space	OH
House	Betty	Sutton	OH
Senate	Tom	Coburn, MD	OK
House	John	Sullivan	OK
Senate	Jeff	Merkley	OR
Senate	Robert	Casey	PA
House	Mike	Doyle	PA