On Tuesday, May 23, 2017, the American Thoracic Society led its members in the Rally on Capitol Hill: Lab Coats for Lungs, in Washington, D.C.
Five hundred supporters joined the ATS Rally, including pulmonary clinicians and researchers at all stages of their careers, as well as patient advocates. Here, participants begin arriving on Capitol Hill.
The rally brought attention to recent proposed policies that threaten to undermine many of the ATS's priorities including: research funding, tobacco regulation, affordable health care, and clean air. The event helped raise awareness and support of these important public health issues.
The ATS and its membership are committed to supporting clean air. The president's current proposed cuts to EPA funding will mean more toxic air pollution, more climate-altering pollution, and more adverse health effects caused by environmental exposures.
"We rally because we have to…We share a growing anxiety that science in general and our field in particular is being dismissed in the halls of power," ATS Vice President Polly Parsons, MD.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) reminded the crowd that they are the most effective lobby. "Thank you for speaking truth to power."
ATS leadership, including newly appointed ATS President, Marc Moss, MD, joined a chorus of voices calling for continued support of scientific evidence in policy decisions.
"Science thrives in openness. Science thrives on sharing and collaboration," he said.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), a tireless advocate for clean air policy, was warmly received by the crowd. "We are at a historic dividing moment. The Health and Human Services budget will be cut by 18 percent. The NIH research budget will be cut by 20 percent. The EPA budget will be cut by 31 percents…" said Sen. Markey.
Pulmonary fibrosis patient advocate Teresa Barnes (center), with ATS Executive Director Stephen C. Crane, PhD, MPH (right). "My goal is to make sure that my daughter never knows that her risk of developing pulmonary fibrosis is 50-50," said Ms. Barnes.
David Gozal, MD, MBA, immediate-past-president of ATS, rallied the crowd of nearly 500, calling the research cuts deeply personal: "I assume that many of you, deep inside, feel anxious by the political forces that are at work in the world today. If it feels personal, it really is, and you should get personally involved!"
Approximately 500 attendees of ATS 2017 rallied at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
In an ATS 2017 International Conference first, respiratory health professionals and patients joined other conference attendees at a rally near the Capitol on Tuesday, May 23 to voice their concerns about recent policies that threaten to undermine many of the ATS’s advocacy priorities including: research funding, tobacco regulation, affordable health care, and clean air. Also participating in the rally were U.S. senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Tom Carper (D-DE).
Listen to audio from the rally.
