If you are a researcher, discuss how important the opportunity to conduct research was in your decision to pursue a career in VA and the extent to which research has influenced your decision to remain with VA. Tell your story, including:

	Has VA fostered your training as a clinician or laboratory scientist? If yes, how?
	After you received your initial VA funding, has VA continued to support your research by providing laboratory space, administrative support and salary support?
	How much of your time is devoted to treating veterans? How much to research?
	Has combining research with providing clinical care for veterans been symbiotic?
	Are you involved in training medical students?
	What do you feel is the likelihood of VA continuing to support your research?

Emphasize that VA must sustain a level of VA research funding opportunity sufficient to continue to attract high quality clinician-investigators to careers in VA. As funding opportunity falls below that of other federal research programs, VA becomes a less attractive career choice. Ultimately, this will have a detrimental impact on veterans’ care.

Describe instances when the R&D Committee has been unable to approve programs because the facility lacked the necessary infrastructure. Discuss your facility’s needs for upgrades, renovation or improvements.

Provide personal anecdotes about your research or research being conducted in your VA as well as its impact on patients and the general public.

Discuss how research impacts employment in your state or district.

If your legislator has been supportive of VA research in the past, express your appreciation.

Ask whether your legislator has a special interest in a specific disease or syndrome. Use your knowledge of VA research to discuss VA research being conducted on that condition. For example, if he/she is interested in diabetes, mention VA diabetes research efforts around the country. If you can tie his/her interest to research being done at your facility, that will be all the better.

Extend an invitation on behalf of your foundation to visit for a tour of the VA research facility.

Sell medical research in general as:

	an essential component of health care
	the best strategy to prevent disease or to find more effective—and cost effective—treatments
	a catalyst for new industries and jobs
	an enterprise that enjoys strong public support

Sell VA research as an essential component of health care for veterans. Selling points may include:

Research on the latest drugs and technology conducted by the VA makes promising experimental drugs and technology as well as supplemental medical care available to VA patients.

VA research benefits veterans directly by concentrating on conditions that particularly affect veterans, but ultimately VA research benefits the general public.

As one of the largest health care systems in the world, VA is ideal for large scale, multi-site studies.

VA’s emphasis on clinically-relevant research makes results more immediately applicable to patients and the general public. VA also has a strong program of laboratory-based biomedical research. and one of the features that distinguishes the VAHowever, its main focus is clinical research.research program from NIH-sponsored research

	Aging research conducted with our aging VA population will have national importance as the general population continues to age.
	Bio-terrorism and deployment health have become increasingly important areas of VA research in recent years.
	Health services research conducted by the VA will have national relevance as managed health care systems evolve.

Conclude by stating FOVA's recommended funding level for the coming year and ask for his or her support. A good way to accomplish this is task the member to send a letter to the leadership of the House or Senate appropriations subcommittees with jurisdiction over VA funding.