Child Psychiatry Loan Forgiveness Update
As you all know, the Kennedy-Ros-Lehtinen child mental health professionals loan forgiveness amendment passed the House of Representatives on March 30th as a part of the Higher Education Act Reauthorization. The Senate companion bill, entitled the Higher Education Amendments Act, S. 1614, has not been scheduled for a Senate floor vote yet, but is expected to be in late April or May. AACAP will keep members informed of developments on this bill and when action is needed. We again thank all AACAP members that made calls to their House Representatives resulting in this overwhelming vote to support child and adolescent psychiatry recruitment.

Spring Congressional Recess Update
Congress will be on its Spring recess from April 10 – 21. This recess is the perfect time to contact your Representative and Senators while they are in the district and ask for their support for the AACAP’s priority legislation, the Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act (CHCCRA), H.R. 1106/S.537. Although the House of Representatives passed a measure to provide loan forgiveness for child and adolescent psychiatrists and other children’s mental health professionals on March 30th, this loan forgiveness program is a separate initiative from the CHCCRA and does not change our efforts to enact this bill.

Many members of Congress hold town hall meetings during recesses and these meetings are excellent opportunities to meet your House Representative or Senators. Some members list their town hall meetings on their websites. Use the following websites to locate your Representative (use the Find your Representative option at the top of the page if you do not know the name of your Representative) or Senator’s website to find out if they have town hall meetings scheduled over the next 2 weeks so that you can attend. House website, Senate website

If you are unable to attend your member of Congress' town hall meeting, but would like to visit their district office, we will be happy to assist you with arranging these meetings. Please contact Sarah Mechum at 800.333.7636, x. 128 or smechum@aacap.org.

If you have any questions, please contact the AACAP Dept. of Government Affairs at 800.333.7636, x. 126.

View a complete list of current AACAP Legislative Alerts to learn more about the AACAP’s legislative agenda, including the priority workforce shortage legislation, the Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act, H.R.1106/S.537. If you have questions or would like more assistance in contacting your member of Congress, please call 800. 333. 7636, ext. 126, or e-mail Nuala Moore at nmoore@aacap.org.