With the passage of H.R. 6199 in the U.S. House of Representatives, we have overcome the first hurdle for getting PHIT Bill language turned into law. Now the issue will be taken up with the U.S. Senate where it will need 60 votes to pass. Securing those votes will be challenging, so we need your support. The first step is to get as many Senators to signify their support as possible by co-sponsoring the bill. Reach out to your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the PHIT Act (S. 482).

Contact your Senator by Email

ACE has drafted a letter for you to send to your Senators. The letter can be edited and personalized if you wish or sent as is. Go to www.acefitness.org/passphit and enter your information to identify who your Senators are. From here you will be able to easily send an email or print a letter to mail to both of your Senators. For assistance or questions please email Advocacy@ACEfitness.org.

Contact your Senator through Twitter

Twitter is a very quick and effective way to communicate with policymakers. ACE has drafted sample posts for Twitter and Facebook that you can easily copy and paste and share with your Senators, clients and communities to advocate for PHIT Act language to become law:

@YourSenatorsName H.R. 6199 was passed in the House on July 25 and includes language that allows HSA’s/FSA’s to be used for physical activity related costs. Please show your support for making physical activity more affordable for more Americans by co-sponsoring S. 482 #PassPHIT

Spread the Word on Facebook

The PHIT Act reached a huge milestone in July – a bill (H.R. 6199) that includes language from the PHIT Act passed the House! PHIT would allow Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts to be used to pay for personal trainers, group fitness classes, gym memberships, youth sports fees, and other forms of structured physical activity. Now, the bill is with the Senate to be considered. Show your support! Help build support for S. 482 and ask your Senators to co-sponsor the bill by sending a pre-drafted letter to your Senators (www.acefitness.org/passphit). Visit ACE’s Advocacy page for more information about PHIT (http://bit.ly/2AByL6R).  

Contact your Senator by Phone

ACE has drafted key tips to keep in mind to ensure you have a successful call:

• Ask to speak to the health legislative assistant in the office. If unavailable, ask that your message be forwarded to them.
• Explain that you are a constituent of the Senator
• Make the message personal – explain how the bill will help you or those in your community
• Be brief, to the point, and courteous
• Thank them for their time and the Senator’s consideration

Sample messaging: On Wednesday, July 25, 2018 the House passed bill H.R. 6199 that included language from the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act. That language would allow Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts to be used to pay for personal trainers, group fitness classes, gym memberships, and other forms of structured physical activity. To help us push this into law, we are asking that the Senator please co-sponsor S. 482 to support efforts to make physical activity more affordable.