Urgent: Your Help is Needed to Secure Funding for the PREEMIE Act!

To make it easier, I found all the contact information here:

We need your help! Call your Senators today and request they sign a letter in support of funding the PREEMIE Act (P.L. 109-450)

Background: As one of its last actions, the 109th Congress approved the PREEMIE Act which was signed into law by President Bush on December 22nd (P.L. 109-450). This law authorizes expansion of federal support for research, education and pilot testing of strategies to prevent preterm birth and a Surgeon General’s conference at which scientists, clinicians, advocates, families and other stakeholders will establish a public/private agenda (e.g. research, education, prevention strategies) to address the serious and growing problem of prematurity. Since the PREEMIE Act is an authorization bill it is necessary to obtain funding separately.

This week Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter to all Senators urging them to sign a letter in support of funding two provisions of the PREEMIE Act. The number of signatures on this letter will demonstrate the level of support for funding the PREEMIE Act. This letter will be sent to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over public health funding. Attached to this document is a copy of the “Dear Colleague Letter” for your reference.

Action Items:

Forward this alert to your grassroots network. (The more calls the better!)
Please note a copy of this action alert and Dear Colleague letter are posted on the March of Dimes advocacy page www.marchofdimes.com/advocacy
Call your Senators’ Washington Office Ask to speak to the Health Legislative Assistant (See contact information below)
Request that your Senator sign the “Dear Colleague” letter using the following talking points:
Talking Points:

One of the last actions of the 109th Congress was unanimous approval of the PREEMIE Act, which was subsequently signed into law on December 22nd. It is vitally important that funding be provided to implement this new law.
Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter in support of funding for the PREEMIE Act. As a constituent, I urge Senator _____ to sign this letter.
Preterm birth is a common, growing, serious, and costly public health problem.
More than half a million babies are born premature each year in the United States.
Since 1981, the preterm birth rate has increased more than 30%. Half of all premature births have no known cause.
Premature birth is the leading cause of neonatal death. Those babies that survive are more likely than full-term infants to face multiple health problems including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss.
A 2006 report by the Institute of Medicine found the annual economic burden associated with preterm birth in the United States was at least $26.2 billion.
The PREEMIE Act authorizes expanded research and a Surgeon General’s Conference to develop a public-private research and education agenda to accelerate the development of new strategies for preventing preterm birth.
The modest funding increases authorized by the PREEMIE Act can make a real difference in the health of our children. Will the Senator sign this letter?
OPTIONAL BULLET: Please refer to the contact list below, if there is an asterisk next to the Senator they were a cosponsor of the PREEMIE Act. If your Senator was a cosponsor of the PREEMIE Act also use this bullet:

As a previous cosponsor and supporter of the PREEMIE Act, I hope that the Senator will sign onto this letter.
U.S. Senators Contact Information

Alabama
Senator Richard Shelby, 202-224-5744
Senator Jeff Sessions, 202-224-4124

Alaska
Senator Ted Stevens, 202-224-3004

Senator Lisa Murkowski, 202-224-6665

Arizona
Senator John McCain, 202-224-2235
Senator Jon Kyl, 202-224-4521

Arkansas

Senator Blanche Lincoln, 202-224-4843

Senator Mark Pryor, 202-224-2353

California
Senator Dianne Feinstein, 202-224-3841
Senator Barbara Boxer, 202-224-3553

Colorado
Senator Wayne Allard, 202-224-5941
Senator Ken Salazar, 202-224-5852

Connecticut

Senator Joseph Lieberman, 202-224-4041

Delaware
Senator Joseph Biden, 202-224-5042
Senator Thomas Carper, 202-224-2441

Florida

Senator Bill Nelson, 202-224-5274 Senator Mel Martinez, 202-224-3041

Georgia
Senator Saxby Chambliss, 202-224-3521

Senator Johnny Isakson, 202-224-3643

Hawaii

Senator Daniel Inouye, 202-224-3934

Senator Daniel Akaka, 202-224-6361

Idaho
Senator Larry Craig, 202-224-2752
Senator Mike Crapo, 202-224-6142

Illinois

Senator Richard Durbin, 202-224-2152

Senator Barack Obama, 202-224-2854

Indiana

Senator Richard Lugar, 202-224-4814

Senator Evan Bayh, 202-224-5623

Iowa
Senator Charles Grassley, 202-224-3744

Kansas
Senator Sam Brownback, 202-224-6521
Senator Pat Roberts, 202-224-4774

Kentucky
Senator Mitch McConnell, 202-224-2541
Senator Jim Bunning, 202-224-4343

Louisiana

Senator Mary Landrieu, 202-224-5824 Senator David Vitter, 202-224-4623

Maine

Senator Olympia Snowe, 202-224-5344

Senator Susan Collins, 202-224-2523

Maryland

Senator Barbara Mikulski, 202-224-4654 Senator Ben Cardin, 202-224-4524

Massachusetts

Senator Edward Kennedy, 202-224-4543 Senator John Kerry, 202-224-2742

Michigan
Senator Carl Levin, 202-224-6221

Senator Debbie Stabenow, 202-224-4822

Minnesota

Senator Norm Coleman, 202-224-5641 Senator Amy Klobuchar, 202-224-3244

Mississippi

Senator Thad Cochran, 202-224-5054 Senator Trent Lott, 202-224-6253

Missouri

Senator Chris Bond, 202-224-5721 Senator Claire McCaskill, 202-224-6154

Montana
Senator Max Baucus, 202-224-2651
Senator Jon Tester, 202-224-2644

Nebraska

Senator Chuck Hagel, 202-224-4224 Senator Ben Nelson, 202-224-6551

Nevada
Senator Harry Reid, 202-224-3542
Senator John Ensign, 202-224-6244

New Hampshire
Senator Judd Gregg, 202-224-3324
Senator John Sununu, 202-224-2841

New Jersey

Senator Frank Lautenberg, 202-224-3224

Senator Robert Menendez, 202-224-4744

New Mexico

Senator Pete Domenici, 202-224-6621

Senator Jeff Bingaman, 202-224-5521

New York

Senator Charles Schumer, 202-224-6542

Senator Hillary Clinton, 202-224-4451

North Carolina
Senator Elizabeth Dole, 202-224-6342
Senator Richard Burr, 202-224-3154

North Dakota

Senator Kent Conrad, 202-224-2043

Senator Byron Dorgan, 202-224-2551

Ohio
Senator George Voinovich, 202-224-3353
Senator Sherrod Brown, 202-224-2315

Oklahoma
Senator James Inhofe, 202-224-4721
Senator Tom Coburn, 202-224-5754

Oregon
Senator Ron Wyden, 202-224-5244
Senator Gordon Smith, 202-224-3753

Pennsylvania
Senator Robert Casey, 202-224-6324

Rhode Island
Senator Jack Reed, 202-224-4642
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, 202-224-2921

South Carolina

Senator Lindsey Graham, 202-224-5972 Senator Jim DeMint, 202-224-6121

South Dakota

Senator Tim Johnson, 202-224-5842 Senator John Thune, 202-224-2321

Tennessee
Senator Bob Corker, 202-224-3344

Texas

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, 202-224-5922 Senator John Cornyn, 202-224-2934

Utah

Senator Orrin Hatch, 202-224-5251

Senator Robert Bennett, 202-224-5444

Vermont
Senator Patrick Leahy, 202-224-4242

Senator Bernard Sanders, 202-224-5141

Virginia
Senator John Warner, 202-224-2023
Senator James Webb, 202-224-4024

Washington
Senator Patty Murray, 202-224-2621
Senator Maria Cantwell, 202-224-3441

West Virginia
Senator Robert Byrd, 202-224-3954
Senator John Rockefeller, 202-224-6472

Wisconsin
Senator Herbert Kohl, 202-224-5653
Senator Russ Feingold, 202-224-5323

Wyoming
Senator Craig Thomas, 202-224-6441
Senator Michael Enzi, 202-224-3424

Is The Preemie Act still up for a vote? We live in Tucson, AZ so who should I contact to get the ball rolling here?