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07.11

Policy 101: Meeting with Legislators

By Russ Harrison

There are many ways to share your views on important policy matters with Members of Congress. You can write letters. You can sign petitions. You can dress up in silly costumes and march down a major street in your home town singing songs with dozens of your closest friends while holding clever political signs. These are all valid ways of engaging our political system that will, to varying degrees, work.

But the best way to influence an elected official, by far, is to meet with them directly. Politicians are people people; they like to see you, shake your hand and hear what you have to say (and, of course, to say something back). Moreover, personal meetings are the most direct, most immediate and clearest way to communicate a message to your legislators.

The problem is that personal meetings with legislators are harder to plan and carry out than most other forms of communication.

To help, IEEE-USA hosts at least three fly-ins each year where IEEE members are invited to come to Washington, D.C., to discuss a particular issue with their legislators. Such fly-ins provide excellent opportunities to influence Congress by meeting directly with Members of Congress and their staff. The catch is that they also require participants to travel to Washington, D.C., for two days.

For those IEEE members who can’t or don’t want to travel to Washington, why not meet with your elected officials in your home town?

Every Representative has between one and three offices in his/her local district. Senators may have even more offices, depending on the size of their state (Sen. Cornyn has seven offices across Texas). District offices serve as dedicated sites for legislators to meet with their constituents, to make it as easy as possible for individuals or groups to speak directly with their Members of Congress.

Arranging a local meeting with your legislators is not that difficult. After all, that’s why they have local offices. That said, elected officials are always in demand, so be flexible and plan ahead to get on their schedules. With some preparation and luck, you should be able to line up a private chat.

STEP #1: Finding the office  

To locate your legislator’s local office, visit his or her official website, which can be found at www.house.gov or www.senate.gov. You can also use IEEE-USA’s Legislative Action Center at www.ieeeusa.org/policy/lac. These sites also include local contact information.

STEP #2: When do you want to meet?

Congressional calendars can be also found on the House and Senate websites, but Congress is usually on recess during the week of all federal holidays and for most of August. You can target these times, or a weekend anytime of the year.

It usually works better to pick a couple of different days for your meeting. Many members of Congress tour their district over the course of a recess week, stopping in each of their local offices for a day or two. You can increase your chances of seeing them in person if you can make yourself available the day he or she is already going to be in your local office.

STEP #3 Send a request

Legislative offices like things in writing (electronic or otherwise). It helps them keep track of all the requests for meetings. You can send your request by fax or email (snail mail lives up to its name). Numbers and addresses can be found on their websites.

In your request, make sure to include the following information:

·         Your name and home address

·         Who will be attending (more are better)

·         When and where you would like to meet (give options whenever possible)

·         How long the meeting will last (30 minutes is typical)

·         The issue you want to discuss

On the last point, meetings with legislators are business meetings, not social calls. It is important that you have something specific to discuss. Stating the purpose of your visit in the meeting request will give your legislator time to prepare for your meeting and give the meeting focus.

STEP #4 Contact the staff

Call your legislator’s Washington office a few days after you send in your request. Ask for the scheduler and then confirm that your communication was received. The scheduler will explain what the legislator’s schedule looks like and if he or she is likely to be available on the days you requested. Be flexible and patient. Legislators’ time is very precious and they can only meet a fraction of the people they would like to. By working with the scheduler to find a mutually agreeable date and time, you will significantly increase your chances of securing a meeting.

STEP #5 Meet

Legislative meetings outside of Washington tend to be more casual and much less hurried than meeting in D.C. You should have more time to introduce yourself, explain your concerns, and talk with your legislator than you would have had in Washington.

STEP #6 Follow-Up

After your meeting, be sure to send “Thank You” notes to everyone you met with, including the scheduler. Be sure to provide any information the legislator asked for promptly. Finally, it is helpful for you to tell IEEE-USA about your meeting, especially if the legislator expressed an opinion about any issues impacting engineers.

What about staff?

Sometimes, despite your best effort, you will not be able to meet directly with your legislator. In these cases, the office will usually offer you a chance to meet with a member of the Legislator’s personal staff. If the offer is made, take it. Meeting with staff is not as good as meeting directly with the member, but it is close. Legislative staff are paid to listen to constituents and then report to their boss, so messages delivered to them will be passed on to the Legislator.

Numerous studies and surveys have consistently found that personal meetings with elected officials are the most effective way to influence their votes. Arranging these meetings is relatively easy and the meetings themselves are inexpensive and convenient. They offer a great opportunity for IEEE members, Sections, Societies, Student Chapters and other collections of engineers to have a direct and immediate impact on public policy.

For more information on scheduling or holding meetings with legislators, contact IEEE-USA staffer Russ Harrison at r.t.harrison@ieee.org.

Russell T. Harrison is IEEE-USA’s Senior Legislative Representative for Grassroots Affairs.

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.