Genetics Day on the Hill
July 10, 2008
Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

On July 10, Genetic Alliance hosted the third annual Genetics Day on the Hill, where individuals from all areas of genetics came together to bring about change in the policies affecting every one of us. We took our cause to key policymakers on Capitol Hill and educated them about policy issues of concern to our community. This year, we celebrated the passage of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) by thanking our GINA champions and looking to the future for genetics and health. We addressed concerns in genetic testing oversight and health information technology, among other topics. Washington policymakers have the ability to make decisions that impact laws throughout the nation, but we exercised our role to influence those outcomes!

Genetics Day on the Hill participants pose on the Capitol steps

View the Slideshow of Genetics Day on the Hill 2008

The day began with a breakfast briefing at the Reserve Officers Association Building, located just north of the Capitol Building. Sharon F. Terry, President and CEO of Genetic Alliance, and Andria Cornell, Public Policy Program Assistant at Genetic Alliance, addressed the crowd and shared in the excitement for the day’s events. We had the largest and most diverse group in three years, and the majority of the breakfast briefing was intended to allow participants to get to know each other, do a little social networking, and identify how each participant can play a crucial role in the success of the day. At registration, participants were assigned to small groups based on geographical location. Each group was also assigned a group leader, who volunteered prior to the event, who guided participants on a series of three appointments with Congressional offices before reconvening at the Reserve Officers Association Building for a lunch briefing.

At lunch, we were joined by Dora Hughes, M.D., M.P.H., Health Policy Advisor to Senator Barack Obama, who spoke about genetic testing issues and looked to the future for genetics. We were also thrilled to have Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, who reflected on the long road to the passage of GINA, address our crowd. After the presentations, participants shared experiences from their morning Congressional office visits and discussed strategies before continuing on to a final series of three afternoon appointments. The day ended with a debriefing session, where Congresswoman Judy Biggert joined us to discuss the impact of GINA and solidified the importance of bringing together a variety of perspectives for one common goal. Sharon Terry presented the Congresswoman with an award honoring her hard work and incredible achievement with the passage of GINA, due to her inability to attend the GINA Victory Dinner the following night, where all our friends in Congress would receive the unique award. The exciting and exhilarating event concluded with a photo opportunity in front of the Capitol Building.

Genetics Day on the Hill is a unique opportunity to realize the incredible impact a community can make when bringing together a diversity of people and perspectives as one harmonious voice.

View photo slideshow of the Event

Read about Genetics Day on the Hill 2007 here

Genetics Day on the Hill Materials

2008 Participants: Take the Genetics Day on the Hill Follow Up Survey