As I take the Public Policy Council chair position this year, I wanted to reflect on how far we’ve come since forming the AUA Political Action Committee (AUAPAC) and how far we plan to go in the coming years as we look to deepen the influence of the House of Urology advancing our legislative goals.

Our legislative and political affairs work centers on advancing key priorities of AUA members. We focus on issues such as strengthening the quality of care we offer patients, expanding and ensuring quality training for the urology workforce, expanding important urological research, and ensuring fair compensation for physicians. These core concerns— your core concerns—inform and drive the entire program, and we are using all tools at our disposal to make tangible progress in these areas.

I want AUA’s advocacy shop to be a powerhouse on the Hill, and a key component of that is creating as many connections as possible with members of Congress, building relationships founded in trust and shared priorities, and seizing opportunities for collaboration. These days, it can be particularly hard to break through the noise and drama of partisan bickering to get our issues front and center. That’s why we work so diligently to build relationships across party lines, chambers, and committees of relevance.

AUAPAC is a key component to building relationships on the Hill. While we have only been operating for a few election cycles, we’ve seen the PAC nearly triple in size from 2020 to 2024. It is my sincere hope that through my tenure, every domestic AUA member will understand the value of the PAC to our advocacy efforts and that we will be able to continue growing so that we can contribute to a diverse array of members who can be influential on our issues.

Our staff’s ability to attend fundraisers allows us to raise issues of concern directly with legislators and their senior-level staff and move ahead more quickly than a slower lobbying-only approach, interacting exclusively with less-experienced staff. General conversations at a fundraiser can lead to specifics with senior staff and jump-start both the legislative process and our connection with that member. Having familiar faces across both the legislative and political parts of a decision-maker’s world can be just the stuff that kicks off excellent working partnerships. AUAPAC contributions get us in the door so that we can advocate effectively on your behalf.

We have set ambitious goals for our legislative and political work in the next 5 years, with special emphasis on growing the PAC. We want to get over 500 donors in the next year, and 1000 donors in the next 2 years. That means we need more AUA members to understand the value proposition of the PAC, and that we need to establish a greater presence across sections and states, across interest areas and professions within urology, including researchers and those in academia, as well as those in training (medical students, residents, fellows, etc). We will be reaching out far and wide to offer up opportunities for engagement in advocacy and political giving and sharing success stories from these engagements.

We also plan to strengthen the work of our AUAPAC Champions program in order to get more members not just giving to the PAC but promoting our work and establishing fundraising goals for themselves. In the next 2 years we want to double the size of our Champions membership and create paths for these most engaged members to leadership across the AUA. AUAPAC is poised to grow, and by growing at this rate, impact more of our members and serve the House of Urology.

In short, I have a bold vision for our public policy work that centers AUA in the thick of the action as a political player and deeply respected partner for lawmakers. I hope you will join me and our legislative and political affairs staff in pushing AUA toward a bright and dynamic future.