"Preserve Title VII." That was among the messages taken to Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, chair of the House Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies, when representatives of AAFP's FamMedPAC attended a Sept. 7 breakfast in Washington. The topic of discussion: pending health care legislation.
The breakfast marked the first time FamMedPAC, the Academy's federal political action committee, participated in a small-group event with an influential member of Congress.
"It was a chance to get in front of a legislative leader and talk issues," said Mark Cribben, J.D., director of FamMedPAC. "Rep. Regula is the chair of one of the most important subcommittees with jurisdiction over health care. This was something we would not have been able to participate in without a PAC."
During the breakfast, Regula discussed the likelihood of various legislative proposals becoming law, according to Cribben. Regula told participants that appropriations for health care, including Title VII, probably would be folded into an omnibus bill that includes funding for a wide range of programs.
Earlier this year, the U.S. House dropped funding for Title VII of the Public Health Service Act; however the Senate appropriated $90 million for Title VII. The legislation now goes to a House-Senate conference committee, which will attempt to reach a compromise on Title VII before sending the bill back to both chambers for a final vote.
"We wanted to make sure that the Senate number is what survives" the conference committee, said Cribben.
Section 747 of Title VII includes funds for departments of family medicine at medical schools for predoctoral education, departmental support and faculty development.
FamMedPAC donated $1,000 to Regula's re-election campaign committee for a ticket to the event.
