We got there Sunday night March 14. On Monday, registration for COC, which was held at a hotel in Old Town Alexandria, VA, didn't start until 4:30 that afternoon. So we spent the day seeing the sights in Old Town, which is a really neat place. Unfortunately it was kind of cold and rainy and some of the things we wanted to see were closed on Mondays, but we still had a good time.
We went to visit Christ Church, built in 1773, where George Washington and Robert E. Lee attended (at different times, of course).
The panels on either side of the altar have the Lord's Prayer, Nicene Creed, and Ten Commandments painted on them and have never been redone. In the early days, families bought their own pews. This is the nameplate on George Washington's family pew (not original as all the silver was stolen out of the church during the Civil War):
Due to all the recent rain the Potomac was flooded that morning, but had receded by that afternoon.
We had lunch on Monday with Josh's cousin Shannon and her boys Ben, Sean, and Noah. They just moved to Fairfax, VA because Shannon's husband Mark was transferred there. Shannon came and picked us up for lunch at McDonald's. It was great to see the Farrens!
Then we visited the George Washington Masonic Memorial, built in the 1920's.
Then on Monday night, we had registration and the COC opening dinner. The speaker was Brenda Elsagher, a national keynote speaker, author, and comic who is a colon cancer survivor from Minnesota. She is an amazing and very funny lady! Here she is with Josh:
On Tuesday, we spent the day in training for our visit to Capitol Hill on Wednesday. We learned a lot about advocating for a cause. We were asking our legislators to cosponsor the Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment Act (HR 1189) introduced by Reps Kay Granger (R-TX) and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and the Colorectal Cancer Screening and Treatment Act (HR 1330) introduced by Dan Boren (D-OK). HR 1189 would set up a national screening and prevention program for colorectal cancer similar to what's already in place for breast cancer. HR 1330 would require insurance companies to cover colonoscopies. We also asked for $50 million in funding for the Dept. of Defense's Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program.
Wednesday, St. Paddy's Day, was our big day on Capitol Hill to ask our legislators to support the abovementioned bills and funding. It was a GORGEOUS day! All C3 advocates were wearing our Cover Your Butt tshirts, which generate a lot of funny looks and opportunities to tell people about our cause.
As we were hanging around in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building waiting for our first appointment, we spotted CNN's Dana Bash getting ready to report live. We wanted to get in the background of her shot but she shooed us out of the way!
Our meetings with the staffs of Sens Shelby and Sessions and Rep. Bachus went very well. We were appreciative of their time during this busy week (in case you're living in a cave, the House is about to vote on the Health Care bill). As we were going into Rep. Bachus's office, the Mayor of Birmingham, William Bell, and most of the Birmingham City Council were on their way out. So we shook the mayor's hand and told him about our cause. Also, there was a copy of the House and Senate versions of the Health Care bill sitting on the desk. Get a load of this:
Do you think anyone has actually read this entire thing???? I seriously doubt it.
The best part of the entire trip is.... we got Representative Bachus to agree to cosponsor HR 1189!!!!! Thank you Mr. Bachus! Participate in our democracy folks, it makes a difference.
After our meetings, we spent some time walking around the National Mall, feeding the seagulls and pigeons, and enjoying the gorgeous weather.
C3 put an article about us on their website. Check it out:
Colorectal Cancer Coalition
Also, we met some advocates from Prevent Colorectal Cancer.org and found out that Josh's testimonial from last year is on their website:
Last but not least, the Congressional Butt-In is scheduled for Tuesday, March 30. Please consider calling your legislators that day to ask for their support. If you live in AL in Rep. Bachus's district, feel free to call him and thank him for cosponsoring HR 1189. If you live in AL but NOT in his district, mention that he is a cosponsor when you call your representative. If you don't live in AL, click on the link below to see if your representative is a cosponsor.
See If Your Representative Is Already a Cosponsor
Go to the link below for more information about the Butt In:
Congressional Butt In Website
Thank you for your support and God bless!
