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From: Terry A. Rondberg, DC Dear Dr Edwards and Dr Wills: I am in receipt of your letter of March 19, 2002. WCA is pleased to clarify our position. First, the agreement, which took place last year, has not been violated. The draft legislation agreed upon by the ACA, ACC, ICA, and WCA was substantially modified by the Congress. During last year's negotiations, WCA expressed grave concern with the proposed "reconstitution" of the DoD advisory committee. We agreed that IF the Congress reconstituted the DoD advisory committee, we wanted representation. Furthermore, we agreed to support the nomination of Carl Cleveland III. WCA NEVER agreed to refrain from submitting other nominees. Congress chose not to reconstitute the DoD advisory committee. Instead, in it's wisdom, the Senate and House of Representatives provided for an open process to select members of the VA advisory committee. For the record, WCA stands ready to write a letter in support of the nomination of Dr. Cleveland per the agreement. Furthermore, as explained in our e-mail to ACA and ACC officials dated March 11, 2002, WCA supports equitable representation and unified action:
Your allegations that we have broken our agreement are insulting and without merit. Our commitment to the chiropractic profession and the patients they serve is steadfast. Despite your accusations, insults, and false premises, we still stand ready to proceed with unified action, providing for equitable representation before the VA. Please note that we are not opposing your slate of nominees. We simply want our nominees included as well. This is not a "slap in the face" to anyone. Your suggestion that the DoD committee members you propose are apolitical is transparent. All are ACA members and not one is a WCA member. Yes, they may be members of other organizations as well, just as our nominees may hold other memberships. Regardless of whom they "officially" represent, it is clear that they are ACA members and supporters. We have no problem with that. Our problem lies with your request to withdraw our nominees. Your statement that a balanced presence will result in "fractured and divided representation" is a tacit admission that you do not want us there, and do not want our point of view represented. This is the antithesis of unified action! NACM and our adversaries will seek to disrupt chiropractic inclusion of the VA regardless of who else is appointed. There is no evidence that excluding ICA and WCA nominees will prevent this. To the contrary, we feel that the best way to minimize the impact of the NACM and other adversaries is to submit a comprehensive, balanced list of highly qualified nominees. The more qualified nominees we submit, the more likely we are to gain appointees. WCA's nominees all have experience as chiropractic practitioners. All have dealt with "hostile" situations. All are experienced in politics, and have worked with interdisciplinary groups. Their backgrounds include education, publication, research, and clinical practice guideline development. We have individuals who have worked with senators, congressional representatives, the VA, and Medicare. Our nominees include the first chiropractor ever appointed to the White House Commission, and the first chiropractor elected to chair the NGO Health Committee, whose members are affiliated with the United Nations. To suggest that these individuals are incapable of effectively representing the profession is outrageous. Our Board of Directors stands firm: WCA will not betray our membership by promoting a slate of nominees, which excludes our candidates. WCA stands ready to support unified action through the joint submission of the ACA/ACC nominees, the ICA nominees, and the WCA nominees. Sincerely, Terry A. Rondberg |
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