American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee: Getting a Meeting with Your Member of Congress

Getting a Meeting with Your Members of Congress. Consult the government pages of your local phone book or go to www.house.gov/writerep (for the House Representative) or to www.senate.gov (for your Senators) to obtain contact information for your Members of Congress. To set up a meeting with a Member of Congress contact the Washington office by phone and request to speak with the office's scheduler. Let the scheduler know if you are requesting to meet with the Member or their staff in Washington, D.C. or in their state. Tell the scheduler the purpose of the meeting and how many people will be attending the meeting. It is sometimes helpful to give the mailing addresses of the people and/or organizations that will attend the meeting. Members are more willing to take a meeting if they know they are seeing their constituents (i.e. voters.)

At all times, it's a good idea to provide Members and their staff with information about issues affecting the American Arab community. Remember to bring helpful materials and information that illustrate your point. In addition, make an effort to meet the Member's staff, as these people are highly influential and may know more about your issue.

Call ahead of time. Dropping in on the office of a Member or their staff and asking them to meet with you without an appointment is the least likely way to see them.

The Actual Meeting. It is important to arrive early for your meeting making sure all members of your group are present. The actual meeting with the Member of Congress may be quite short. Members of Congress have busy schedules with several meetings, floor votes, committee hearings, and speaking engagements all planned for one day. Additional time for your group may be spent with a legislative aide. With all meetings, be polite and don't be confrontational. Stick to your talking points mentioning bill numbers and titles when relevant. Ask the Member or staff for a specific action:

Please (do/do not) cosponsor this bill Please (do/do not) cosign this letter Please vote against/ for this legislation in committee (if they are a member of the relevant committee) or one the House/Senate floor.
Please find a way to support X issue.

Some Things To Keep In Mind Before Meeting Your Members Of Congress.
Does the Member already have strong feelings about the issue?
Will this issue be an important one in an upcoming election?
Does the member already receive considerable support, in votes or campaign contributions, from opponents of the issue?
Are there many voters in the Member's district that are tied to this issue?
What is the position of the Member's political party?

Send A Thank You After Your Meeting. Finally, make sure to express your gratitude and follow up your visit with a thank you letter. The thank you letter should reiterate the issues that were brought up during the meeting, your position on these matters, when the meeting occurred and most importantly your full name and mailing address so that they may respond to your letter.