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Mission of the 317 Coalition:
The 317 Coalition was formed in April 2006 by a group of leaders in the immunization community, including non-profit immunization advocacy organizations, academic and provider institutions, professional associations, and vaccine manufacturers.
This coalition is solely focused on advocating for increased 317 funding, and as such will focus on implementing the policies of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and other relevant policy making bodies. It in no way makes or attempts to influence immunization policy.
The mission of the coalition is to educate Members of Congress about the needs of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization program, and advocate for increased federal appropriations to ensure that children and adults can receive recommended vaccines to protect them from disease. As new vaccines have become available since 2000, the 317 program has steadily been losing ground in its ability to ensure that underinsured children can receive recommended vaccines. During this recent period, the cost of providing new vaccines has forced the program to reduce the number of children assisted by more than half. Furthermore, the 317 program has never been able to adequately fund adult immunization programs that protect seniors and others from common diseases such as seasonal influenza that claim tens of thousands of lives each year. The CDC recently submitted a report to Congress indicating that almost $1.6 billion, an increase of over $1.1 billion, is needed for the 317 Program in order to keep pace with new vaccines, expanded vaccine recommendations, operational and administrative funding needs, and enhanced vaccine safety activities.
 The 317 coalition is a virtual network of organizations, led by a steering committee, and staffed by a Washington D.C.- based government relations firm. The coalition has become a resource for member organizations to share data and information about the needs of the national immunization program for advocacy purposes. It is also a vehicle for smaller state and local organizations who do not have resources to follow Capitol Hill on a daily basis, to receive free action alerts, talking points, information, and tips on how and when to engage their Congressional delegation in support of increased funding for immunization programs. The coalition seeks to continually recruit national, state and local organizations with an interest in child and adult immunization to expand an effective grass roots advocacy network to as many state and Congressional districts as possible. There is no cost to join the coalition.
Steering Committee:
The steering committee will guide the collection of data and information to build the advocacy case, provide guidance on advocacy strategies, and form a core team of coalition representatives to meet with federal decision makers in Congress and Executive agencies.
The steering committee currently includes:
- Donna Brown, JD, MPH, Government Affairs Counsel, National Association of County and City Health Officials
- Christianne M. Johnson, MA, CHES, Program Associate, Partnership for Prevention
- Paul Offit, MD, Director, Vaccine Education Center, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and former member of ACIP
- Amy Pisani, MS, Executive Director, Every Child By Two
- LitJen (L.J.) Tan, MS, PhD, Director, Infectious Diseases, Immunology, and Molecular Medicine, American Medical Association
- Deborah Wexler, MD, Executive Director, Immunization Action Coalition
Technical Advisors:
- Claire Hannan, MPH, Executive Director, Association of Immunization Managers
- Bronwen Kaye, Senior Director, Government Relations, Wyeth
- Dean Mason, Assistant Vice President, Wyeth Vaccine Global Policy
- Patrick McLain, Vice President, Federal Government Relations, GlaxoSmithKline
- Laurie Michel, Senior Director and Counsel, Merck
- Amy Redl, Manager, Federal Government Relations, Sanofi Pasteur
- Libby Solon, Executive Director, Federal Government Relations, Novartis
Staff:
The Coalition has retained Cornerstone Government Affairs, a Washington DC - based government relations and lobbying firm, to provide administrative and advocacy support for the coalition. Cornerstone will assist in the development and execution of advocacy strategies for Congress and the Executive Branch, and develop advocacy materials and supporting documents. Cornerstone will host periodic conference calls and meetings, maintain a website, and be the primary point of contact for coalition members to receive advocacy materials and share information from members among the coalition. Cornerstone has extensive experience in supporting advocacy coalitions and representing public health and health care issues in Washington.
Financial Support:
Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth, MedImmune, Sanofi Pasteur and Novartis are generously supporting the administrative costs of retaining a government relations firm to coordinate the coalition's activities in order to allow any organization, regardless of size, to join the coalition at no cost
Activities and Member Involvement:
As a member of the Coalition, you will be sent action alerts asking you to contact your Congressional representatives during the appropriate time in the Congressional cycle or to sign on to letters in support of the Coalition's goals. You will also be invited to participate in periodic conference calls to share important information about critical needs of federal, state and local immunization programs, and coordinate grass-roots advocacy efforts. A key to effective grass roots advocacy is combining a national message with impacts and information from state and local organizations to their Congressional representatives. Therefore, it is just as important that the Coalition hear from local organizations about local needs in states and individual Congressional districts.
Click here to view the members of the Coalition.
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