Contacting Legislators
Communicating with Legislators
The most effective way of influencing Federal legislation is for constituents to communicate their views directly to their respective elected officials. Sending letters, placing telephone calls, and arranging visits with either legislative staff or officials themselves are activities which increase the likelihood that attention will be paid to the message being delivered because constituents play such an important role in election outcomes through the power of the vote. Moreover, these activities both reinforce and augment what Association staff aim to achieve in the policy arena.
WRITING LETTERS (to download a sample appropriations letter click here) MS Word format
Letter writing is an effective advocacy method. Correspondence should be addressed as follows:
House of Representatives
The Honorable (full name)
U. S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative (last name):
Senate
The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator (last name):
The letter should be no longer than one-page. Additional considerations are as follows:
- Be specific about the issue being brought to the legislator’s attention. e.g., The Allied Health Reinvestment Act, S. 2491.
- Restrict the letter to a single issue. Describe the impact that the proposed legislation would have on your Congressional District or State. e.g., if you had a grant application approved, but it was not funded, describe how the District or State would benefit if sufficient money were available to fund the project. Request a reply.
- Include your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address.
VISITING CAPITOL HILL
While some of the following comments may seem fairly obvious, it is worthwhile to keep them in mind to ensure that visits to Congressional offices go smoothly.
Be On Time
A corollary to arriving on time is to be patient if interruptions occur during the meeting.
Don’t Be Surprised by a Substitute
Hill staff may substitute for one another at the last minute. No harm usually results, because the name of the visitor and the substance of what this individual has to say will be conveyed to the elected official.
Be Prepared to Discuss an Issue
Seeking to have appropriations continue for the Section 755 Allied Health & Other Disciplines Program under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act is a good reason to meet with elected officials and their staff. Rather than try to remember too much information, concentrate on a few key points such as the following:
- Practitioners/patients have been involved in geriatric activities.
- Grants have led to service in rural and medically underserved areas.
- Interdisciplinary training has been enhanced.
- Recruitment/ retention activities affected large numbers of minority students
Hill visitors should be able to weave their own narratives, using the few key words appearing in bold print in the aforementioned paragraph. Other points worth mentioning are:
- These achievements have occurred using a relatively small amount of Federal money.
- The return on that investment has been substantial.
- Moreover, funds have been employed to achieve objectives that are commonly agreed upon by policy makers.
Remember the Political Aspect of Your Visit
A Hill visitor should point out such things as which college/university or organization that he or she represents. If asked, acknowledge any opposing views that may exist and indicate why you advocate your own position. Fortunately, there tends to be no organized opposition to health professions education legislation. The topic is not as controversial as bills pertaining to tobacco and abortion, for example. It’s highly unlikely that there are any strong opponents to the notion of having an adequate supply of competently-prepared health professionals. Instead, from the perspective of policy makers, the issue is one of deciding which of the nation’s many needs should be of the highest priority.
If your institution had an allied health grant proposal approved, but not funded (since 1990, there have been almost 400 proposals in this category), indicate what useful things could have been accomplished with this money. An aide or elected official should be encouraged to visit you or make contact with you at your school as a means of acquiring more valuable information and using you as a local resource in the future
Follow-Up Activities
Leave your business card and some printed material that emphasizes the points that you made during the meeting. Upon returning home, write a thank-you letter using the proper salutations shown above, re-emphasizing what action you would like taken.