As pediatric-focused APRNs, you are advocating every day – for your patients, your students or your role as a health care leader. Join our community of experts in pediatrics and advocates for children in communicating with elected leaders and amplifying messages to benefit child health and advanced practice nursing. On this page, you can participate in our pre-formatted campaign or locate contact information for your elected leaders to call, email or tag in social media. Additional functions and campaigns will be added soon.
Participate in Our Advocacy Campaigns
Tell Congress to Pass Legislation to Protect Kids Online
The Senate passed the “Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act” (S. 2073), the first major legislation is years to strengthen online protections for children, on an overwhelming 91 to 3 vote, sending the legislation to the House of Representatives. The bill combines two measures that NAPNAP has supported: the “Kids Online Safety Act” (S. 1409/H.R. 7891), known as “KOSA,” which would require social media companies to protect minors from harmful content, and the “Children and Teen’s Online Privacy Protection Act” (S. 1418/H.R. 7890), known as “COPPA 2.0,” which would ban certain advertising targeted to children and teens and prohibit companies from collecting their personal data.
Now it’s time for the House to pass this bipartisan legislation – and Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he’d “like to get it done,” adding that “Obviously I believe in the purpose of the legislation. I think it’s really important.” Even so, some social media platforms want to keep the House from passing the bill. Representatives need to hear from pediatric advanced practice nurses in their districts and communities about the importance of strengthening federal safeguards to protect children and adolescents from harmful online content that threatens their mental health.
Please contact your Representative NOW and urge him or her to pass the “Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act.” In the blue box to the right, simply fill in your info, click next, review and/or customize the communication and click submit.
Campaign: Tell Congress to Support Increased Funding for Nursing
When Congress reconvenes in September, legislators will resume the debate over funding government programs including those supporting the pediatric nursing workforce and public health programs. While a final agreement on Fiscal Year 2025 funding isn’t expected until after the November election, members of Congress need to be reminded how important it is that nursing receives the financial support essential to increasing the number of pediatric advanced practice nurses and ensuring that children and adolescents can access the care they need.
Neither chamber of Congress passed legislation before the August recess to fund the Department of Health and Human Services in Fiscal Year 2025. Senate appropriators drafted a bill that would increase funding for nursing and programs supporting care for children, but the House proposed legislation that would cut funding for nursing workforce programs by more than $18 million and eliminate funds for the Nursing Workforce Diversity Program and other programs affecting children’s health from suicide prevention to tobacco cessation. As leaders work to resolve those differences, members of Congress need to hear directly from pediatric advanced practice nurses in their states and districts about the critical need to provide adequate, sustained funding to support children’s health care.
Please contact your Representative and your Senators NOW to urge them to reject proposed funding cuts and work on a bipartisan agreement that will provide sufficient resources to address pediatric nursing workforce shortages and meet children’s health care needs. In the blue box to the right, simply fill in your info, click next, review and/or customize the communication and click submit.
Campaign: Call on Congress to support the “Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) have joined Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) in introducing the “Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act” (S. 2418 and H.R. 2713), legislation that would remove a wide range of long-standing federal statutory and regulatory barriers that currently restrict Medicare and Medicaid patients’ access to care provided by NPs and APRNs. The ICAN Act would enable APRNs to utilize their clinical expertise to improve care for patients by:
- Authorizing patients to receive Medicaid outpatient clinic services under the direction of NPs
- Making permanent the waiver allowing Medicare and Medicaid hospital patients to be under the care of NPs
- Authorizing NPs and CNSs to refer patients to dieticians or nutrition professionals
Please contact your members of Congress NOW to ask them to cosponsor the ICAN Act to increase patient access to high quality care provided by NPs and APRNs. In the blue box, simply fill in your info, click “Next,” review and/or customize the communication and click “Submit.”
Campaign: Your Elected Leaders Need Your Expertise
It is essential that NAPNAP members help build awareness about our profession and the key role that we play in delivering evidence-based, high quality pediatric health care. Take time to introduce (or reintroduce) yourself to your elected leaders – as a constituent and a health care leader. Start building relationships now so that elected officials better understand you and the issues you will raise during their terms. As an expert in pediatrics and an advocate for children, you are a valuable resource and influencer in your home district!
It’s quick and easy to advocate for child health and advanced practice nursing issues with our pre-formatted communication that sends directly to your elected leaders in Congress. In the blue box, simply fill in your info, click next, review and/or customize the communication and click submit.
