Assignment Task:
#1 Reply from Heather Lopresto
To be an advocate for Policy development at the Federal level, you must be actively engaged with legislative efforts. To do so, you will need to be aware of who your legislators are.
In your discussion post, address the following:
In which state do you live?
I live in the State of Florida
Who are your state legislators? Include both your state senator and your state representative.
Senate: Danny Burgess
Representative: Danny Alvarez
Who are your federal legislators? Include both your U.S. senator and U.S. representative. (You could have more than one for each.)
Senate: Rick Scott and Ashley Moody
Representative: Vern Buchanan
Then, visit Congress dot gov and choose one piece of pending federal legislation about which you feel passionate.
What is the name of the pending legislation? Include both number and title.
I chose H.R. 8848 - Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act of 2024. This bill would allow U.S. residents to import prescription drugs from other countries where they are often sold at lower prices (Congress dot gov, 2024).
Where is it in the policy development process - is it heading to the House or heading to the Senate? Need Assignment Help?
The bill is currently in the House of Representatives, specifically with the Committee on Energy and Commerce. If the committee approves the bill, it will go to the full House for a vote. If passed, it will move to the Senate for further consideration. As Mason et al. (2021) explain, bills usually start in one part of Congress, and if they are approved, they continue through various steps until they can become law.
Why are you passionate about this particular piece of pending legislation?
I feel strongly about this bill because prescription drug prices in the U.S. are too high for many people. Expensive medications often prevent people from getting the treatment they need, which leads to worse health outcomes. Allowing Americans to buy cheaper drugs from other countries could help make healthcare more affordable and accessible, especially for those who struggle to afford their medications.
Depending on whether it's approaching the House or the Senate, which of your federal legislators would you contact if you wanted to advocate for this bill to become a law?
Since this bill is in the House of Representatives, I would contact my representative to express my support for the bill. If my representative is on the Energy and Commerce Committee, I would try to reach out to them, as they are directly involved in reviewing the bill. According to Mason et al. (2021), contacting key legislators is an important step in advocating for a bill. Even if my representative isn't on the committee, I would still encourage them to support the bill when it comes up for a vote in the House.
#2
I currently live in Texas and have multiple state and federal legislators. On the state level, there is Phil King as Senator and Mike Olcott as state representative (Plural Policy, n.d.). For my federal legislators, you'll find Craig Goldman, John Cornyn as representatives and Ted Cruz as the senator (Plural Policy, n.d.).
One piece of pending federal legislation that stands out to me is the Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act of 2024 (H.R. 7546). This bill would amend the Social Security Act to limit how much mandatory overtime nurses can be required to work in certain Medicare-participating facilities. Right now, it's in the House of Representatives, specifically with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Congress.gov, 2024).
I'm passionate about this bill because mandatory overtime is a huge issue in nursing. I habitually work overtime, but by choice. I don't believe that overtime should be mandatory to where a nurse doesn't get to decide her hours each week. Long hours lead to burnout, mistakes, and overall poor patient care. Nurses aren't robots-we need rest to provide safe, quality care. If this bill passes, it could help improve working conditions and patient outcomes.
Since it's still in the House, I'd reach out to Craig Goldman, my U.S. Representative for Texas's 12th Congressional District, to advocate for it. A quick email or call explaining why this matters could make a difference. Nurses' voices need to be heard on this one!
Reference:
Congress dot gov. (2024). H.R.7546 - Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act of 2024. U.S. Congress. Retrieved March 12, 2025