STRUCTURING YOUR CONGRESSIONAL MEETINGS
Objective of each Meeting:
- Establish rapport/friendliness. If they like you, they’ll be helpful, bring the issue up with the congressional leader and keep you coming back for more meetings.
- Educate them about the issues (particularly the strategic reasons for U.S. involvement).
- Make an “Ask.” Such as, “We’d like to ask Sen. Jones to cosponsor the Water for the World Act.”
- Engage. Work in statements like, “If you have a chance Google Plumpy’Nut. 60 Minutes did a special on it and it’s essentially a vitamin-packed, peanut butter like substance that looks like a candy bar. Instead of needing doctors and iv’s to bring a malnourished child back from the brink of death, plumpy’nut can be fed to the child by its mother and within a month the toddlers are being transformed from barely surviving into looking like fairly health kids. It’s also incredibly cheap.”
How to Format your Meeting
This is a helpful guideline, but it’s better to let the meeting flow than try to follow a firm agenda.
- Small talk. This often begins while walking with the staffer from the waiting room to a conference room. “How’s your day going?” “Is this a busy time of year for your office?” “I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.”
- Show them some love. Whether Democrat or Republican a congressional office can safely assume that half the country doesn’t like them. They have an endless stream of angry emails, phone calls and in-person interactions. The sooner you can convey that you come in peace, the sooner they’ll let their guard down and be more receptive to the message. Hopefully, during your pre-meeting research you were able to find something good that they’ve done relevant to the issue. Thank them for their support on that bill or issue.
- Problem. Paint a picture of the problem being discussed. If applicable this is a good time to work in personal stories or eye-opening stats.
-“One billion people lack access to clean water.”
-“When I was traveling through Ethiopia, the minute we arrived at a small village and stepped out of the car, you could tell which villages had a well and which ones didn’t. The conditions of people and, in particular, the kids were night and day.
-“More people are killed from dirty water than war.”
- Solution. Discuss how the problem is preventable and share success stories regarding how it has been addressed before. Discuss how the bill you are discussing will help reduce the problem.
- Make the “Ask”
-“I would like to see Sen. Jones cosponsor the Water for the World Act.”
- Why it matters to the United States/their district. The staffer needs talking points to sell the bill to the political leader. The political leader needs talking points to sell it to the public.
-“The United States’ national security and economic growth is very tied to the plight of the world’s poor...”
- Wrap it up. “Thank you for your time. Is this something you will bring to the congressman? Is there a good time to follow-up? Should I contact you or is there someone in particular you’d like me to follow-up with.
Questions you’re most likely to be asked
For the most part, you’ll work your magic and have very few questions. However, the questions below are the most frequently asked questions that we get from political leaders and staffers during meetings. They don’t expect you to know the answer to every question and you can always say that you will follow up with an answer via email, but if you want to feel more prepared study these:
-What’s the CBO score? This means how much does the bill cost. CBO stands for the “Congressional Budget Office.” They “score” a bill to determine how much it will cost to implement. Not every bill gets scored. To determine the bills price tag, search for it on cbo.gov or click the CBO link for the bill on the legislative section of borgenproject.org
-How many cosponsors does the bill have? With this question they’re trying to get a sense of the bills popularity and likelihood of passing. Political leaders don’t like supporting legislation that won’t pass.
-Who has cosponsored the bill?
-What’s the bill number?