Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Please read, sign, and share and help prevent radon exposure

Please share and sign. Some of these people were my friends. I just signed the petition "546,000 Preventable Radon Induced Lung Cancer Deaths Since IRAA passed, 1988." on Change.org. It's important. Will you sign it too? Here's the link: https://lnkd.in/eMxPUp2

Friday, December 12, 2014

Johanna Shares and Urges Radon Testing

Please listen to this compelling video and share it with others.  Radon-induced lung cancer can be prevented.  Help us do that by sharing....

Thursday, October 2, 2014


Individual Initiatives Improve Healthy Housing Through Public Policy

Gloria Linnertz, Founder & President, Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction
seascape@htc.net

Abstract

EPA estimates a death rate of 21,000 yearly due to radioactive radon gas; the need for state and federal legislation is paramount in our nation. Citizens cannot see, smell or taste this silent killer; the most effective way to protect homeowners, renters, students, school and other employees is through laws.  In December 2005, the oncologist informed my husband and me that radon is a known cause of lung cancer as he gave the diagnosis of Stage IV lung cancer to my husband.  Six weeks after his diagnosis, Joe died.  I found we had been living with over four times the EPA action level of radon for 18 years.  Determination overtook my grief, devastation, and anger as I gathered statistics, data, and scientific studies to present to my state representative with my proposal for mandated radon testing at the point of sale and if the level was 4.0 or higher, mitigation before occupancy.  Immediately, my representative filed a resolution to urge everyone to test for radon, schools to test, and financial institutions to offer low interest loans for mitigation. I wrote, emailed, faxed, visited, and called all of the Illinois legislators informing them of the danger of living with high levels of radioactive radon gas and sent them my proposal with the 2006 Illinois Radon Status Report.  Dallas Jones, AARST, formulated the language and the bill filed was the Radon Awareness Act passing the House and Senate unanimously.  Homeowners testing their home at the point of sale have increased from 8% to 45% according to Illinois Emergency Management Agency.   Stemming from the radon awareness of the legislators, numerous bills have been enacted including radon reducing features for all new residential construction in Illinois.  Kansas and Minnesota have modeled their own Radon Awareness Acton the Illinois law; other states are attempting the same legislation.  Advocates give a personal and heartfelt account of the tragic effect of radioactive radon gas exposure and have effectively spoken in front of and submitted written testimony to the U.S. House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee for the continued support of the State Indoor Radon Grants by EPA.  Radon Leaders share a booth at the NCSL to educate legislators throughout the nation about the danger of radon, the existing laws, and model legislation. Since 2006, numerous radon bills and resolutions have been passed in the U.S. Conclusion: individual and personal connections are what change our world for healthier environments.

Introduction

Radon is invisible, odorless, and tasteless; the most effective way to protect homeowners, renters, students, school and other employees is through public policy.  Because the presence of radon cannot be detected with human senses, most people are completely unaware if they are living, working, or attending school in environments with elevated levels of radioactive gas or not.  This paper shows how changes needed for public policy can be effected through individual initiative.


 

Objective

This paper has four objectives:  first, to prove the effectiveness of individual commitment in changing public policy; second, to show verifiable evidence of public policy changes thus effected; third, to show some proven methods behind, such changes; and fourth, to advocate for more individuals to engage in public policy changes concerning radon awareness and public health and safety. 

Method

Approaches to effect changes in public policy on the local, state, and national levels are similar, but not always identical:  speaking before local school and community groups; using the press in local, state and national advocacy; knowing your political representatives and communicating via mail, email, and personal visits; recruiting like-minded adherents; assisting and using organizations.

                                                         Motivation and Strategy                         

No one should purchase a house with elevated levels of radioactive radon gas.  In December 2005, our oncologist informed my husband, Joe, and me that radon is a known cause of lung cancer as he gave the diagnosis of Stage IV lung cancer to my husband.  Six weeks after his diagnosis, Joe died.  We had been living with over four times the EPA action level of radon for 18 years. 

Determination overtook my grief, devastation, and anger as I gathered statistics, data, and scientific studies to present to my Illinois (IL) representative, Dan Reitz, with a proposal for mandated radon testing at the point of sale and-- if the level was 4.0 or higher-- required mitigation before occupancy[1] (Linnertz, 2006).  I also sent this document to thousands of newspapers across the country. Immediately, Representative Reitz filed HR 1288[2](Reitz, 2006)--a resolution to urge everyone to test for radon, schools to test, and financial institutions to offer low interest loans for mitigation-which was adopted two days after the filing.  Throughout the summer, fall, winter of 2006, and spring of 2007, I continued to communicate with all of the Illinois legislators by personal visits, emails, faxes, and correspondence through the U.S. Postal Service informing them of the danger of living with high levels of radioactive radon gas and sent them my proposal and fact sheet along with the 2006 Illinois Radon Status Report issued by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Radon Program in the Nuclear Safety Division which stated that 42 percent of Illinois homes tested with elevated levels of radon[3] (IEMA, 2006).  The strong state radon program in Illinois was a great asset in providing radon data and facts.

Networking and communication were essential to the success of my crusade. Sharing the facts of  the danger of radioactive radon exposure through presentations to local, community, and state groups and organizations was vital and rewarding in increasing awareness and radon testing in homes.  I secured letters from Joe’s oncologists and other physicians to send to the legislators requesting support for a passage of radon legislation to protect our citizens.  With the assistance of Dallas Jones, Chairman of the American Radon Policy Coalition of American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (AARST), who drafted the bill which would become known as the Radon Awareness Act or Public Act 095-0210; the physical presence, testimony, and support of John Dunn, President of the Illinois Home Inspectors Association along with the moral support of Cal Murphy, AARST member, and Peter Hendrick AARST Executive Director, a momentum was building.

Results

SB3200[4] (Claybourne, 2006) was introduced on November 16, 2006, by Senator James F. Clayborne, Jr.  The bill amended the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act and stated that prior to the sale of a residential property, the seller must have the property tested for radon and radon progeny by a licensed radon contractor and furnish a prospective buyer with the test results and provided that if the test revealed that radon is present at a level in excess of 4.0 pico curies per liter of air (pCi/L) in the indoor atmosphere of the residential real property, the seller must mitigate, repair, or alter the premises to reduce the radon level to below 4.0 (pCi/L) or give the prospective buyer notice of the right to terminate the sale agreement without loss of any earnest money or down payment effective July 1, 2007.

However, Representative Reitz felt SB3200 would encounter too much opposition to pass, and he desperately wanted to have a bill pass, as a bill can only stay in the legislature for two years. Dallas Jones, an AARST board member, formulated the language of HB1425 [5](Reitz, 2006) that became known as the Radon Awareness Act modeled after the lead base paint disclosure act. This bill provided that the seller of the home supply the buyer with a pamphlet entitled “Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions[6]” and the Illinois Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards[7] stating that the property may present the potential for exposure to radon before the buyer is obligated under any contract to purchase the residential real property. 

A meeting was held with Representative Reitz, John Dunn, and Greg St. Albans, the legislative liaison for the Illinois Realtors Association, to work through an agreement of the wording of the bill.  The bill was introduced on February 21, 2007; the House Rules Committee assigned the bill to the Environmental Health Committee.  On March 6, 2007, I testified at the public hearing at which time the bill passed the Environmental Health Committee with a slight amendment. The bill passed the second and third reading on March 13 and March 22, and on March 27 it arrived in the Senate with Senator Donnie Trotter as chief sponsor.  I had met previously with Senator Trotter in his office in the capitol building and on March 30 testified in front of the Senate Housing and Community Affairs Committee where the bill had been assigned. On May 22, 2007, the Radon Awareness Act passed the third reading in the Senate.  Coincidently on August 16, 2007, the Illinois governor signed the bill into law—my husband’s and my thirty-first wedding anniversary.

Although this law is not a mandate for testing, according to Patrick Daniels of Illinois Emergency Management Agency the percent of homeowners testing their home at the point of sale has increased from eight percent to almost 50 percent.   Stemming from the radon awareness of the Illinois legislators, numerous bills have been enacted since 2006 in Illinois including mandated radon reducing features for all new residential construction, mandated testing for licensed day care centers, recommended radon testing for schools, required disclosure of unsafe environmental conditions including unsafe levels of radon by sellers of a multifamily unit (4 or more units), and a declaration of a misdemeanor to misrepresent the capabilities of a radon or radon progeny testing and measuring device.[8](ELI, 2014)  The education of the legislators concerning the danger of radon was the backbone for the ease of the passage of these bills. Other states are modeling Illinois’ radon legislation.  Minnesota[9] ( Marty, 2013) and Kansas[10] legislatures have adopted the Radon Awareness Act to their states.

Advocates give a personal and heartfelt account of the tragic effect of radioactive radon gas exposure and have effectively spoken in front of and submitted written testimony to the U.S. House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee for the continued support of the State Indoor Radon Grants by EPA.  Since 2007, I have participated in the Radon Leaders Saving Lives booth at the annual Summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures to educate legislators throughout the nation about the danger of radon, the existing laws, and model legislation.


 

Conclusion

Individual and personal connection is what changes public policy in our world for improved healthy housing which has been evident in this abstract. However, in order to achieve the desired outcome of increased awareness of the danger of radioactive radon gas exposure, increased radon testing, and increased radon mitigation protection, more involvement on a personal level is needed by our citizens.  By educating ourselves on radon and its potential harmful effects--lung cancer-- and then sharing that knowledge with citizens and political leaders in cities, states, and congress, we can really begin to take action to protect our citizens against this silent killer, the second leading cause of lung cancer.[11]



[1] http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2006/Oct/27/Features/health102706_a.shtml
[2] ftp://www.ilga.gov/legislation/94/BillStatus/HTML/09400HR1288.html
[4].http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=3200&GAID=8&SessionID=50&LegID=26453
[5]http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=1425&GAID=9&SessionID=51&LegID=30215
[6] http://www.radon.illinois.gov/pdf/radontestguidelineforrealestate.pdf
[7] https://www.state.il.us/iema/radon/pdf/DisclosureRadonHazards.pdf
[8] http://www.eli.org/research-report/state-indoor-air-quality-laws-database-excerpt-radon-laws
[10] http://www.kdheks.gov/radiation/radon.htm#laws
[11] http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/radon

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Gloria Linnertz National Lung Cancer Awareness Month Plea

Reprinted from November 2, 2009
We think we know about radon and lung cancer, but do we?

Why was I so confident in my ignorance is the question I ask myself very often. In the months prior to my husband’s diagnosis of lung cancer, he mentioned to me that perhaps we should check our home for radon gas. Of course, I didn’t know anything about radon gas, but thought I did. I said that our home was relatively new—only twenty years old—and we had a tight basement. I was confident in my ignorance! Because radon cannot be detected through our senses, the only way to know if this silent killer is intruding into your home is to test. Recognizing what we can’t see, taste or smell is the problem.

In the year before his diagnosis, my husband Joe also said to me that he might have cancer. My husband had previously had two triple artery bypasses twenty years apart. Again, I said, you don’t have cancer; you have heart disease. I thought he was just worrying too much. I thought I knew but I didn’t. My husband Joe was a person to take preventive and safe measures. For 27 years he worked and exercised every day, kept a low fat, low cholesterol diet, and didn’t smoke. We had smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers in our home; and we didn’t burn candles. Joe only lived six weeks after his diagnosis of lung cancer that had spread to his liver and bones. We had been living with a radon level of 17.6 picocuries per liter of air in our home for 18 years.

Knowing the word radon and that it is a gas does not constitute knowledge of the element and its danger. You’ve heard the saying “A little knowledge can be dangerous.” I would change that to “A little knowledge can be deadly.” We, the general public, don’t know the facts. We must replace our limited knowledge with a full base of all the facts on radon.

Dr. Bill Field, an American Academic Scholar and Professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health and Department of Epidemiology within the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa, who has recently been appointed to the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health by President Obama, stated that protracted radon progeny exposure is the seventh leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States and the leading environmental cause of cancer mortality. It is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among non-smokers. Large and recent studies confirm that radon in homes increases lung cancer risks. Throughout our world up to 18% of the lung cancers can be attributed to indoor radon according to Professor Bill Angell, Chair of the Prevention and Mitigation Working Group of the World Health Organization’s International Radon Project. . Radioactive particles from radon gas are inhaled and attach to the air sacs in the lungs. These particles change the characteristic of the cells to cancer, and those mutated cells divide and multiply.

Radon is a radioactive gas that emanates from rocks and soils and tends to concentrate in enclosed spaces like houses. Soil gas infiltration is the most important source of residential radon and is present in every home (except ones on stilts) because of the way our homes are built and designed.

The analysis from recent studies in Europe, North America, and Asia indicates that lung cancer risk increases proportionally with increasing radon exposure according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There is no known threshold concentration below which radon is safe. On September 21, 2009 WHO, in view of the latest scientific data, released a reference level of 2.7 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L) as a minimum level to minimize health hazards due to indoor radon exposure.


Radon is easy to measure. Every home needs to be tested for radon because each home has its own individual footprint on the earth. The homeowner cannot rely on the results of surrounding houses in the neighborhood. A short term (3-7 days) and/or long term (3-12 months) test kit can be used. Radon professionals can also perform the test with electronic devices. Test kits can be obtained from the radon hotline at (785) 532-6026 or email at Radon@ksu.edu. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Web site: www.sosradon.org. Radon test kits can also be purchased at the local hardware stores.

It is easy to protect from radon gas. Addressing radon is important in new construction as well as existing buildings. Radon prevention strategies focus on sealing radon entry routes and using soil depressurization techniques to prevent the gas from entering the home. The cost is very reasonable. “How little it can cost to save a life!” is what I would say to someone who complained about the expense of a radon mitigation system installed by a licensed radon professional.

I write this in memory of my husband Joe --who was so very dear to me—my friend, my partner, my companion, my love. I ask you to test your home for radon during this month of November—National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. If your level is above 2.7, spend that little extra money to help save a life. That life may be someone you love

Friday, April 18, 2014

My Written Testimony to the US House Appropriations Subcommittee on Radon Funding


Gloria Linnertz
Radon Activist/Advocate
seascape@htc.net
www.CitizensForRadioactiveRadonReduction.org

Written Testimony for
House Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
B-308 Rayburn House Office Building
April 10, 2014, 9:00 and 1:00
Once again my heart has dropped as the news of the elimination of the FY2015 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Indoor Environments Division (USEPA/IED) State Indoor Radon Grant (SIRG) reached me.  Each year for three years, I have urged and encouraged the continuation and increase in the appropriations from $8 to $16 million for the SIRG because most of our citizens have no idea that they might be living with high levels of radon, attending school in buildings with elevated radon levels, or working in environments with radioactive radon exposure in dangerous amounts.  My plea to all of the Republican and Democratic subcommittee members on the House Appropriations Interior Environment Subcommittee is to consider that lung cancer is bipartisan and to realize that lung cancer victims are not here to fight for themselves in mass droves because lung cancer is the greatest cancer killer of all.
          Over the last eight years since my husband’s death from radon induced cancer, I’ve devoted my life to radon awareness, education, and action.  During this time, I’ve become friends with and made acquaintances with many people throughout our nation who didn’t know they were living with high levels of radioactive radon gas exposure until they were diagnosed with lung cancer.  Many of them are or were very young:  Monica Pryor 37, mother of 3 small children from SC died in 2008; Steph Langstaat, 33, a middle school principal in IA; Naomi Herzberg, 37, an active young woman in CA; Lori Tassin a vibrant mother of two young children in IA; Linda D’Agostino, mother of a young teenager in PA; Elizabeth Hoffmann diagnosed at 37 a passionate radon advocate for 10 years until her death last year, and others in their early 40’s.  Five of my friends are or were teachers in middle schools—two of them have now passed:  Susan McCormick in OR and Barb Neitge in MN.  Those individuals I mentioned are just a few of the people I’ve met and shared in their lives and stories of radon-induced lung cancer.  My friends all wanted to make a difference so others wouldn’t learn about radon in the manner they did.  Many of them have passed now, so it is up to those of us left who know about the real danger of radon to prevent future radon-induced lung cancer deaths.  There are thousands and thousands of individuals whom I will never meet as they are no longer present physically, but I am here today to speak for them.  An American dies every 25 minutes from lung cancer related to radioactive radon gas exposure in homes, schools, and workplaces.  With eight to ten million U.S. homes existing with elevated levels of radon gas, the Environmental Protection Agency needs a fully functioning vital radon program to help save human lives.  In 1988, a federal law was passed—the Indoor Radon Abatement Act—which stated that our government would protect the citizens from radon gas with state radon programs providing education and awareness.[i]  EPA is walking away from the radon risk reduction, its moral duty and its legal obligation to the public.      

          The EPA estimates 9.2 million U.S. homes have an elevated radon level with 30 percent having an operating radon mitigation system.[ii]  Of course, the more homes that are tested, the greater validity to the radon levels.  An example of that is demonstrated in the county in which I live.  When my husband died of lung cancer, the radon zone we were supposedly living in was a Zone 2; now I live in a Zone 1 radon area.  I haven’t moved. There have just been more tests performed and people are finding out for the first time that their homes have elevated levels of radon.  The National Cancer Institute in 2005 indicated 15,000-22,000 deaths were due to radon exposure; however, with more homes built with undetected high levels of radon than the small percentage of homes being mitigated, that number is most likely underestimated.[iii]  With radon ranking as the number one home hazard by Harvard University, with high levels of this radioactive gas having been detected in every state in our union, and with more deaths attributed to radon exposure than to carbon monoxide, fires and handguns combined, our citizens need to be aware of this increased danger of lung cancer that may be affecting their health.  The carcinogenicity of radon is supported by a consensus of opinions among national and international health organizations such as the World Health Organization, American Medical Association, U.S. Surgeon General, Center for Disease Control, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Public Health Service, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  By informing citizens about the health risk posed by radon exposure and by providing practical advice about radon testing and mitigation, the State Radon Programs through the use of the State Indoor Radon Grants can impact on prevention of radon-induced lung cancer.

          You may wonder what the states do with the State Indoor Radon Grant money received.  I can attest from firsthand knowledge of the awareness, outreach, and education that occurs through the media blitz in newspapers, radio and sometimes TV, but always through appearances at health fairs, home shows, and conference presentations with community and organizational leaders as well as builders and realtors.  Medical forums are also conducted to educate medical professionals with the knowledge and understanding of how they can help increase radon awareness and save lives through radioactive radon exposure prevention.  Radon Education and Networking Days are held, radon video contests are conducted to increase awareness in high schools and involve the young generations in the importance of protecting themselves and their families from elevated radon exposure.  Radon test kits are available at a very reasonable cost and sometimes free to the public.  Without the SIRG appropriation, 80% of the state programs will close and inevitably more deaths will occur through ignorance of the danger of radon exposure.

          Radon-induced lung cancer occurs due to the ingestion of radioactive alpha particles, the attachment of those particles to the lining of the lungs, and the occurrence of DNA alteration which develops into cancerous cells spreading throughout the lungs and often to the liver, the bones, and the brain.  My husband, Joe, was diagnosed with late state lung cancer as most lung cancer patients are.  Those patients have only a 2-4% five-year survival rate according to the American Lung Association.  Joe lived six weeks after his diagnosis.  The oncologist told us radon is a known cause of lung cancer.  One month after his death, I found that we had been living with over four times the EPA radon action level for 18 years and had no idea.  If we had only known all of this beforehand—that radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers, and that elevated levels can be present in any type of structure, and that radon is the leading environmental cause of cancer mortality—we would have taken action to prevent this tragedy.  I cannot describe in words the devastation of hopelessness and helplessness I had when the oncologist told us that the lung cancer was inoperable and there was no cure.  Nor can I completely tell you of my anger when I discovered that radon was the likely cause and contributor of Joe’s death, and how easily it could have been prevented if we had only known.

          Determination overtook my grief, devastation and anger as I gathered statistics, data and scientific studies to present to my Illinois representative with a proposal for mandated radon testing at the point of sale and mitigation required before occupancy if the level was 4.0 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L) or higher.  For a solid year, I communicated with all of the Illinois legislators, informing them of the danger of living with elevated levels of radon, and sharing with them the 2006 Illinois Radon Status Report as well as my proposal.  The bill filed is known as the Radon Awareness Act, and as a result of its unanimous passage in the Illinois House and Senate, the number of homeowners testing their home at the point of sale has increased from 8% to 40% according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.  However, there is no state in our nation that mandates radon testing at the point of sale; nor is there a federal law.  According to a recent survey, 88% of the individuals polled didn’t know the real danger of radon.[iv]  The only way to know is to test, and few people have done that.  What a simple life-saving solution if we had only known.
          We speak about money and appropriations here today.  I ask you to contemplate the value of life.  A radon test kit costs approximate $20 and a radon mitigation installation averages about $1,200-$1,500.  Isn’t a life worth that much?  The appropriation for SIRG is a minuscule amount in our nation’s budget.  So I ask you:  Please don’t sacrifice lives with budget cuts.  We have a government to provide protection for our citizens not just on the battlefields, but in our own homes, schools, and workplaces.
          The time for action is NOW.  According to P. M. Sandman, a toxic Superfund site causes more concern than radon, even though radon exposure kills more Americans each year than all the Superfund sites combined.[v]   However, because of sensationalism, the Superfund sites get most of the funding and attention.  Our citizens don’t stop dying from radon-induced lung cancer just because radon isn’t in the news.
          Please, I urge you to use your voice and your vote to make a difference and help save thousands and thousands of lives each year with the reinstatement of the State Radon Indoor Grants and increased attention and appropriations that this demonic, silent and radioactive killer deserves.

Respectfully Submitted
Gloria Linnertz
Radon Activist, Advocate
March 27, 2014




[i] http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/chapter-53/subchapter-III
[ii] http://www.epa.gov/radon/pdfs/Federal_Radon_Action_Plan.pdf
[iii] http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/radon.
[iv] Source: “Americans in the Dark About Lung Cancer.” National Lung Cancer Partnership. 2011. http://www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org/news-center/press-releases/in-the-dark.
[v] Sandman, P.M. Risk Communication:  Facing Public Outrage. EPA Journal; 1987: 21-22

Monday, April 7, 2014

As Founder of Citizens For Radioactive Radon Reduction, my message remains the same.

As Founder of Citizens For Radioactive Radon Reduction, my message hasn't changed.Please give a listen. Thank Dr. Leach and Ted for making the recording. http://www.jackstreet.com/JackStreet/WCON.Linnertzleach.cfm

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Citizens For Radioactive Radon Reduction


Please Like  www.facebook.com/citizens4radonreduction and take a look at www.CitizensForRadioactiveRadonReduction.org for more information on the danger of living, working, and attending school in environments with elevated levels of radon gas.  Please join us as we advocate for radon awareness, education, and action.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Please show what a true radon advocate you are and make a difference with your written testimony to the House subcommittee requesting federal funding for the State Indoor Radon Grants.  Without theses grants, the state radon programs will cease all radon education and outreach to the citizens of that state.  Please help and make a difference in helping to save lives with radon advocacy.

Written Testimony for US House Of Representatiive To Be received by April 10, 2014.

House Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
B-308 Rayburn House Office Building

Instructions for Providing Written Public Testimony

An electronic copy of testimony must be received by April 10, 2014.

As in past years, ALL interested parties may submit written testimony to be included in the official record. You do not have to be selected for an in-person public testimony day in order to participate.
All written testimony must comply with the following requirements.
* Do not exceed four pages - testimony that exceeds four pages will not be accepted.
* Type on standard 8.5 by 11 inch letter size paper. 
* Single-space type in 12 point font with one inch margins. 
* Clearly indicate your name, title, and institutional affiliation (if any) at the top of the first page. 
* Clearly state in the first paragraph the agency, program, and amount of funding involved in the
request. 
* Do not include color and detailed photos, since the official record will contain photographically reproduced copies of written testimony. However, use of charts and tables and the use of appropriate bold type and bullets are acceptable, as long as they are within the four page maximum length.
*Attach testimony to an e-mail with the subject line "written testimony" and send to
*Attach testimony to an e-mail with the subject line "written testimony" and send to