|| LIRS || Tips on Making Personal Visits With Your Senators and Representatives

Making Effective Personal Visits With Your Senators and Representatives

A personal visit with your U.S. senators and representative at their offices either locally or in Washington, D.C., can be exciting and rewarding. It can also cause anxiety if you have not done your homework. Here are some times on how to make the visit effective. A group visit has advantages, especially if you represent a broad base of people or an organization. The tips on effectiveness are the same.

Speak Up!

“Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless.” —Proverbs 31:8

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” —Micah 6:8

Before the Visit

1. Make an Appointment

To find your legislators' contact information, enter your ZIP code in the blue box at the top of the right hand column of this page.
Write or call your legislator at the office where the visit is to take place to ask for an appointment.
Write or call again to confirm the appointment.
If the legislator is not available, make an appointment with a legislative aide. Seeing the aide can also be valuable.

2. Brief yourself about your legislator

Find out the following:

General extent of the district.
Committee assignments.
Number of terms served.
Professional background.
Voting record on issues of interest to you.
Views stated publicly on the above issues.

3. Define the objectives of your visit

Is your objective to get acquainted, express general views or discuss specific issues? In regard to the latter:

Limit the number of issues to be discussed.
Brief yourself on the facts surrounding these issues.
Outline your views and comments in a written summary.

4. Factors to anticipate

The appointment may start late.
The legislator's schedule may change, causing him or her to be unavailable. Your options then are to wait, meet with a staff member, make a new appointment or meet the legislator at another site.
The length of the visit may range from five minutes to an hour.
For a group visit, decided beforehand on who will be your spokesperson, introduce the group, guide the conversation and summarize the issues of concern.

During the Visit

1. Set the Climate

Be on time.
Be positive and friendly—not argumentative.
Acknowledge areas of agreement.
Acknowledge areas of appreciation.

2. Talk briefly about yourself

Give information on your:

Place of residence and length of time there.
Church membership.
Education, occupation and volunteer service.
Political involvements.
Group you represent, if any.
Experience and expertise relevant to the issues for discussion.

3. State reasons for the visit

Identify your position on the issues for discussion or that of the group you represent.
State your position and recommendations.
Be concise and specific.
Leave a written summary of your position, if available, along with a calling card and reference material.
Ask for related legislative materials such as copies and analysis of bills.

4. Be alert to other matters

Meet and write down the names of staff persons assigned to your issues of concern.
Do not let questions or comments derail your purpose.
Admit that you need to think more about any new point raised and offer to send a written response later if it is desired.
Ask specific questions and request specific responses.
Explore such options as attending committee meetings or hearing or visiting galleries.

After the Visit

1. Hold a debriefing

Sit down with another person or the members of the group who made the visit and talk about it.
Determine possible next steps.
Inform others about who was learned.

2. Send a follow-up letter

In a follow-up letter to the legislator: