Meet With Elected Officials

A visit to your Member of Congress or other policymaker can be an effective advocacy tool and an empowering experience for your chapter. This guide contains helpful information on how to arrange and conduct a meeting.

Why Meet?

Face-to-face meetings present opportunities to establish a dialogue with policymakers, educate them on the issues, and assert the credible voice of health professionals and health professional students to promote a human rights agenda.

You can engage your elected officials or their aides in a number of ways: in-district meetings, phone calls, Capitol Hill visits, legislative breakfasts, and town meetings, to name a few. This guide focuses on in-district meetings; if you have questions about other types of meetings, contact Danielle Fox at dfox [at] phrusa [dot] org.

You can achieve a number of goals during an in-district meeting: you will be letting the policymaker know that his or her constituency cares about the issue at hand; you can educate the policymaker about the issue and explain why his or her support is important; you may be able to gain a commitment for some specific action, such as voting for a piece of legislation, and you can thank participants for prior support. Even if you are not successful gaining a commitment, you will have established a dialogue, raised awareness, and set the stage for follow-up communication.

Establish Your Credibility and Influence as a Future Health Professional

• Make it known that you are a future doctor, nurse, or health policymaker and have an informed interest in the issues you have come to discuss.
• Call on your contacts to enhance your "clout": invite influential faculty members, deans, or school affiliates to the meeting. Consider organizing a sign-on letter to deliver during your visit.

Scheduling a Meeting

• First: Before scheduling a meeting, let PHR know with whom you would like to meet by contacting Danielle at dfox [at] phrusa [dot] org or 617-301-4200. We may know the appropriate legislative aide(s) you will be meeting with and we can give you background information on the Member of Congress.
• Call your national or district office and ask for the scheduler. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your MoC's office.
• Timing: Allow sufficient lead time when calling for an appointment. The more advance notice the office has, the more likely that a MoC (member of congress) will attend. Try to schedule your visit to coincide with a milestone: report just released, recent media coverage of issue, a bill that is being deliberated, etc.
• Who should attend: Don't bring a large group—three or four people should suffice for main talking roles. Be sure your group includes people from the legislator's district, are from constituencies the member cares about (religious or civil groups, for example), and are articulate and confident.
• Prepare: Know your issue; your position must be based on facts, not emotion (although speaking with conviction can be very effective). Bring relevant materials to leave for the member. Research the member's track record on your issue.
• Practice: Decide who will speak, for how long, and on which aspect of the issue. Develop talking points and rehearse your roles before the meeting. Keep your presentations brief and to the point—legislators and their staffs are incredibly busy. It is OK to consult notes during the meeting, but you should be comfortable enough with your subject that you don't need to read a script. Practice!
• Structure: Before the meeting, designate one person as the meeting captain. The captain's job is to facilitate the meeting, ensuring it is well-paced and that your group covers all the important points—and that you ask for any desired action or outcome. Designate a second person as meeting administrator to take notes on the discussion and facilitate follow-up.

Tips--The 4 C's

• Connection: Recognize your legislator's past support—or lack of—of this issue and related issues. Be relaxed but professional; chat briefly about personal connections (if any) to set a congenial tone. Always be polite—never confrontational.
• Context: Give background information on the issue, why it is important, your connection to it, and the policymaker's connection to it.
• Know your Opposition: Be prepared to counter opposing arguments.
• Commitment: Have an objective and do not be afraid to ask. Be specific and clear: "May we count on you to Co-Sponsor the Act?" If you want measurable results, you've got to ask for them.
• Catapult: End on a friendly note. Thank your legislator and staff. Be sure you find out which aide works on your issue and obtain contact information. Discuss steps for follow-up.

Meeting Follow-Up

• Media attention. Meetings with MoCs are most effective if they coincide with milestones, such as the release of a report or a pending piece of legislation. Try to integrate the timing of your meeting with your media strategy—while the issue is fresh in your legislator's mind, try to generate media coverage by submitting articles, writing Op Eds or letters to the editor.
• Write a thank you note to all meeting attendees.
• Send follow-up materials.
• If the policymaker was unsupportive or noncommittal, ask constituents to write letters on the issue, or if the member is supportive, urge constituents to send thank-you notes.
• Email PHR and tell us how the meeting went!

Practice Exercise

Your Senator will cast the deciding vote on a bill that would authorize $8 billion to strengthen health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. From her voting record, you know she is supportive of global health and humanitarian issues, but she is on the fence for this bill.

• Brainstorm what you would cover during the meeting:
• Who would you bring to the meeting? Students? Faculty? Health Professionals?
• What role would each participant play?
• What fact-based information will you cite in support of your advocacy?
• What message would each person convey?
• What do you think would influence the Senator?
• What opposing arguments can you expect? How will you counter them?

Role Play: Have one person play the member of Congress. Ask others in your group to play the part of meeting participants; stage a mock meeting. Afterward, discuss as a group how the meeting went. Was the message conveyed clearly? Would you add or remove sections? How did the meeting flow? Did you achieve your goal(s)? Why or why not? What are the next steps?

>  Return to the Student Chapter Toolbox