How do I get to the conference?
If you’re flying we recommend you go into National/Reagan airport. The Metro goes from there to a block away from thehotel.

What about meals?
There are 20restaurantswithin two blocks of the hotel. Other than the Group Leader luncheonon Sundayand the major donor luncheonon Monday, meals are on your own.

When will I get my schedule?
You will get your lobby scheduleon Sundaynight at the Lobby Prep meeting from6:30pm to 8:30pm.
Note: If you are the person in charge of scheduling appointments please understand that it often takes between five and ten contacts to confirm an appointment using both email and phone. Please stay with it until you get something on the MOC’s schedule. The minute you do,confirmthe appointment and let Amy Bennett know at

What should I wear at the hotel during the conference?
Dress in business casual or casual. Dress for comfort and ease. Remember, conference rooms are usually kept cool, so bring a shawl or sweater to wear just in case.Anticipate a lot of standing, so wear comfortable shoes!

What should I wear while lobbying?
Business attire. It will be hot and you will be walking outside from time to time, even crossing across the Capitol lawn. Please wear comfortable shoes. Feel free to carry dress shoes, ladies, to switch to before stepping into the meeting. Rainy weather is a possibility.

How do I get to my MOC meetings from the hotel?
This year’s conference takes place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., near the Woodley Park stop on the Metro’s Red Line. No metro transfers needed to Capitol Hill! We will cover this during Lobby Prep at the conference.

How long can I stay on the Hill for meetings and still get to the airport on time for my flight?
From Capitol Hill: Allow 1 hour to get to your hotel to check out, 1 hour subway ride to DC National Airport. Allow 1 additional hour to get to Dulles Airport or 2.5 hours to BWI (Baltimore Airport).

I'm looking for a roommate, whom should I contact?
There is aTravel Kioskon CCL Community where members are posting room share availability.

How do I join CCL Community?

Send a request to join . Be sure to include your CCL group name in your email.

If I register now, is it too late to lobby?

We really appreciate your concern and desire to be apart of the conference. Everyone who registered prior to May 22nd will receive an assigned schedule at the conference. People who register after that will be directed to CCL Mentors. There will be a designation on the mentor's name tag that allows them to be easily identified. Hopefully, you will be able to find a mentor who has appointments in your state and possibly your congressional district. Mentors will do their best to get you in a meeting or two. We are sorry that we cannot confirm a schedule for people who register after the 22nd, but with 3200 meeting assignments covering 535 offices there's a lot of complexities involved. Please feel free to call the office, 619-437-7142, if you have any questions about this, or if this causes you to reconsider attending the conference.

What is the Mentor Program?

The Mentor Program will be managed at a separate desk at the conference for those who registered late and did not get a meeting schedule. The mentors will provide meeting information where it is possible to include an extra lobbyist. There is however no guarantee that every registrant will be given a spot in the mentor program. While we would love to give everyone a guaranteed spot in a meeting, please understand that space is very limited in some offices. The mentor assignments will be assigned at a later date and will depend on the state that you are from.

How long does it take to get through Capitol security?

All staff and visitors can expect to pass through at least one security checkpoint to get to Capitol Hill. There are a few members of Congress who have offices in the Capitol so check your lobby schedule (delivered Sunday at the conference) to see if you have any meetings inside the Capitol. It is recommended that you arrive 15- 30 minutes prior to the start of the conference in anticipation of security wait time. The following is a list including all items that are prohibited inside the building. In order to avoid a longer wait, make sure you do not bring:

  • Liquid, including water
  • Food or beverages of any kind, including fruit and unopened packaged food
  • Aerosol containers
  • Non-aerosol spray (Prescriptions for medical needs are permitted.)
  • Any pointed object, e.g. knitting needles and letter openers (Pens and pencils are permitted.)
  • Any bag larger than 18" wide x 14" high x 8.5" deep
  • Electric stun guns, martial arts weapons or devices
  • Guns, replica guns, ammunition, and fireworks
  • Knives of any size
  • Mace and pepper spray
  • Razors and box cutters

How do I use the metro?

Outside of each metro station, there are directional signs to the station’s entrances and to the station's accessible elevator entrance. Also, each station has a Passenger Information Display System that informs passengers when the next train will be arriving and alert passengers of any service delays. Metro Fare cards can be purchased at Metrorail station Farecard & Passes machines which are located immediately before the turnstiles. More detailed information is located on the website, .

Is it worth it to buy a plastic metro card instead of the paper ones?

Depending on how often you plan to use the metro, there are different fare cards available to you. The SmarTrip card is likely the best card for our conference attendees - they can be purchased in varying amounts. These fare cards may be purchased online or can be bought at various metro sales office locations. For more information, the metro’s website is .

Peak SmarTrip® Fares (in effect weekdays from opening to 9:30 am and 3-7 pm and weekends midnight to closing)

  • $2.10 minimum + a $1 surcharge if a paper farecard is used
  • $5.75 maximum + a $1 surcharge if a paper farecard is used

Off-Peak SmarTrip® Fares (all other times)

  • $1.70 minimum + a $1 surcharge if a paper farecard is used
  • $3.50 maximum + a $1 surcharge if a paper farecard is used

Paper Farecard Surcharge

If you use a paper Farecard, you will pay a surcharge for each trip. To avoid this additional cost, we encourage you to use a SmarTrip® card.

  • $1 fare surcharge for each trip taken with a standard paper Farecard. That's $2 for a roundtrip.
  • 50¢ fare surcharge for seniors and people with disabilities.

How much walking will I have to do?

Due to the different schedules that each volunteer will have, the amount of walking will vary. That being said, there may be a lot of standing (in security lines), or walking to and from metro lines, so comfortable shoes are always recommended.

What will the weather be like?

Middle to end of June in D.C is typically in the low to mid 80s with high humidity and occasionally high chances of rain. So, be ready for a possible chance of rain and some hot weather, with cooler nights in the mid 60s. As always, the weather forecast is subject to change.

Will there be time to site see? When?

If you would like to sitesee and explore, it is important that you set aside a day before or after the conference to do so. There is much ground to cover during the conference and trying to get out for a couple hours may not be possible. That being said, the Library of Congress, is on Capitol Hill and it may be possible for a brief visit if your schedule includes a 3-4 hour break.

How are final lobby schedules created for all CCL volunteers?

Months before the conference, volunteers sign up and make appointments for summer lobby days. Interns work on appointments where we have no CCL constituents. Even if you are the volunteer who made appointment, your final schedule is coordinated centrally via a custom software program. Once a meeting is set, volunteers send the meeting details to Amy Bennett. We try to get all meetings set one month before the conference. The logic in the software puts CCL constituents and meeting schedulers/liaisons in meetings first, based on how long volunteers said they are available to lobby (when they registered for the conference). It uses other logic points as well, such as not being in 2 meetings at once! Additionally it assigns volunteers to a few meetings where we have no constituents coming to DC. This allows us to potentially get our message to the entire Congress!

The software program makes 3200 individual CCL meeting assignments! Then we spend weeks troubleshooting. We have to limit changes or special requests. The final weeks of coordination resemble a pit crew changing tires at the Indi 500. Changes during the last weeks are challenging since each change affects something else, much like pulling a loose thread in a sweater. We print out the schedule right before the conference and hand these out at the conference registration desk. This process gives us the opportunity to meet with every office on Capitol Hill in 3 days!