Making Congressional Visits

Developing relationships with your Representatives and Senators and their staff is key to getting your message heard and promoting strong global AIDS policies. Here are some suggestions for planning a meeting with a member of Congress.

Scheduling the meeting

  • Be aware of your representative's time limitations. Don't ask for more than a half hour of his/her time.
  • Look at the congressional calendar to help you decide whether you want to schedule a meeting in Washington, DC, or at the district office. (These calendars on the Senate and House websites at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov, respectively.)
  • About one month before you would like to have the meeting, fax a meeting request to your Congressperson's scheduler. This request should include a brief description of what you want to discuss and the proposed meeting attendees. Meeting requests should be made in writing since the scheduler will have to pass the request along to several people before a decision is made. You can find contact information on the House and Senate websites, or you can call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected to your congressional office directly.
  • Follow up with a phone call to the scheduler one week after faxing your meeting request.
  • Call to confirm your meeting two or three days beforehand.

Preparing for the meeting

  • Do your homework. Find out your Representative's or Senator's priorities. You can do this by looking at their website (linked off of the House and Senate websites) or finding out what congressional committees they sit on (also available on their website).
  • Decide who should deliver your message. Program leaders should always be involved in congressional visits, but a message from community figures can also be powerful. Most importantly, the message should come from a constituent!
  • Prepare your talk. State your requests clearly at the beginning of your talk. And keep in mind that the congressional schedule could change at any time, so you don't know how long your meeting will actually last.
  • Practice your talk. Congressional offices can be very chaotic, with people coming and going, phones ringing, and TVs blaring throughout the day. Rehearsing your comments beforehand will make it easier to concentrate in the chaos of the moment. It's also a good idea to practice in front of a few friends or colleagues to get more comfortable and get some feedback on your presentation.
  • Limit the number of people who will be in attendance. Congressional offices are generally quite small.
  • Choose a secretary and manager for the meeting. The secretary will be responsible for taking notes and writing down any commitments that your Congressperson makes. The manger will be responsible for keeping the group on task and making sure all requests are covered.

During the meeting

  • Even though your meeting is with the member of Congress, expect to meet with a member of his/her staff instead. Don't be disappointed. Members rely heavily on the opinions of their staff when making decisions.
  • Be flexible. Your meeting may take place in the hallway on the way to a vote or may be cancelled with no warning. Members' schedules are constantly changing, which may end up affecting your meeting.
  • Make sure you know "who's who" in the meeting, and make sure the secretary records everyone's names.
  • Be concise. Summarize your request in five minutes or less.
  • Connect with your members and their staff. Ask them to share their goals and the issues they care about. Try to find common ground between their priorities and yours.
  • Thank your member of Congress. It is rare that they hear this from their constituents. Thank them for supportive actions they have taken or simply for meeting with you.
  • Be prepared to speak to opponents' arguments on the issue. Do your homework on opposing viewpoints, so that you can more effectively defend your position. Never attack. If you don't know the answer or how to respond to your Congressperson, tell him/her that you will get more information.
  • Make specific, clear requests and ask for an answer. Your members of Congress ultimately work for you, and they need to know specifically what you want them to do, whether it is sponsor a bill, vote a certain way, or speak with another Representative or Senator. In addition to your requests, don't be afraid to ask your Congressperson what they feel they could do for your issue.
  • Leave behind concise information. If you leave large amounts of reading material, your main message will get lost in the volume of paper. Put this information in a file folder with your organization's name on the label. Make sure that your website address and contact information are on every piece of correspondence that you leave or send to the office.

After the meeting

  • Make sure to send a thank you note.
  • Send the office any additional information they requested.
  • Follow up with a staff member on specific requests you made at your meeting.
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