Alpha Lillstrom Cheng

Welcome to the 117th Congress!

Many of you who are PPS Key Contacts have existing connections with your legislators and will continue to build upon them.

However, 47% of members of the House of Representatives are in their first or second term so there is a real need to educate your lawmakers about the value of physical therapy and the impact your small business has on your community. With 61 new members of the House this year, a number of you will be starting from scratch. Similarly, seven of the new Senators do not have Congressional experience, so it is critical that they hear from you in order to better grasp the important role you play for your patients’ physical function as well as the economic impact federal policies can have on your business.

Additionally, with a new administration, a swap of political power in the Senate, and some changes in committee assignments in both chambers there will be new opportunities to pursue while advocating for policies which will improve payment and reduce administrative burden while ensuring patient access to care at your private practice physical therapy clinic.

New Members of Congress are still in the process of hiring their policy staff. Those who are assigned to committees of healthcare jurisdiction are likely to hire those specific staffers sooner, but it can take as long as the end of March before these offices are fully staffed. In many cases new Members of Congress will hire staff which have Hill experience—so it’s quite likely that the legislative assistant you work with will be significantly more familiar with our issues than your lawmaker. As policy staff are hired for your legislator, I will send you the relevant contact information directly.

If you are not a PPS Key Contact but are interested in serving, let us know and we will see if your Member of Congress is available for pairing.

Keep an eye on your inbox for the upcoming release of the 117th Congress Legislative and Advocacy Priorities document that you will be asked to share with your lawmaker.

Thank you!