New Opportunity to Help APA Advance Psychiatry’s Issues

A major reason for APA’s 2001 reorganization is to enable the association to invigorate its patient and professional advocacy activities. APA is currently committing substantial financial support to the local district branches and state associations for priority grass-roots advocacy issues. To compliment this strategy we are establishing a political action committee that allows APA, at the national level, to educate and lobby members of the House and Senate of the U.S. Congress.

Knowing this goal must be achieved, and to create the necessary infrastructure to carry it out, your Board of Trustees voted unanimously to establish the American Psychiatric Association–Political Action Committee (APA-PAC).

The purpose of the APA-PAC is to advance the interest of psychiatry in public forums and to represent these interests before legislative and other government bodies. These goals are achieved by working through the political process by supporting candidates who are committed to assisting those suffering from mental illness, including addictive disorders.

The APA-PAC provides a way to combine smaller donations from individual psychiatrists and give them in one larger, more impressive contribution to an elected official or candidate on behalf of the entire profession.

These contributions go a long way in allowing APA-PAC contributors to target key fund-raising events, set up grass-roots educational meetings between APA members and elected officials, and provide other opportunities for APA members to have access to key members of Congress.

Why is this important? As APA members, we must be certain that laws are not made and regulations are not established that would negatively impact on our practice of psychiatry and on psychiatric patients without the opportunity for prior education and comment from psychiatrists themselves. APA-PAC will help to ensure not only the election of members of Congress who share mutual principles and goals with APA, but also stand up for our position during the legislative process. It also helps educate other members of Congress as to why they should support a position critical to our patients and our profession.

APA-PAC is established as a voluntary, nonprofit, unincorporated committee of psychiatric physicians who donate money to candidates seeking federal elective office. APA-PAC is and will be bipartisan, representing all of psychiatry. In order for it to be vigorous and a potent force, we need your help.

Psychiatrists have traditionally been lousy politicians. Many APA members find the national political process distasteful, but our choice is a simple one—have a seat at the table or cede our place to others who most certainly do not have our patients’ and psychiatry’s best interest in mind.

If we are not prepared to back up our advocacy with tangible support for our political friends and tangible opposition to those who oppose us, then we will pay a heavy price. Simply put, an effective PAC is one part—a vital part—of a coordinated grassroots strategy that includes lobbying by psychiatrists on a national and local level.

This will be the first time that APA has had a political fundraising voice and that APA members will be able to participate individually in furthering the goals for patients and the profession of psychiatry in this regard.

To make the launch of APA-PAC successful, you will be able to make a voluntary contribution to the PAC by simply marking the APA-PAC “check off” box on your APA 2002 dues billing statement. The success of APA-PAC depends 100 percent on voluntary support. It is vital that all psychiatrists understand the importance of this effort. Everyone’s participation is essential. ▪