by Melanie Brunson
As you may already know, the American Council of the Blind Legislative Seminar is scheduled for the weekend of February 24-26, a little earlier than usual. I hope many of you are making plans to attend. Because we aren’t always able to finalize our agenda until just before the seminar, you may have to wait a few weeks to learn about the specific issues we’ll be covering this year. The legislative process being what it is, Congress’ own agenda can change rapidly, and chances are good that the 107th Congress won’t provide an exception to this precept. Regardless of the issues that make their way onto this year’s agenda, though, I’d like to suggest to you that there are some things you can do before you come to Washington that can help you prepare for your meetings with legislators. Here are my recommendations; they are based on our collective experiences in the legislative trenches, and I believe that if you can take some of these suggestions to heart, you’ll find that this year’s seminar will result in some real, meaningful gains for ACB and the issues we care about.
The first thing you may want to do is to find out all you can about the members of your legislative delegation. How well do you know them? Do you know what committees they serve on? Do you know what issues they are particularly interested in? Knowing these things can allow you to phrase your comments in a way that will relate to something your member really cares about. For instance, if you discover that a legislator has a particular interest in livable communities, you can talk about any number of issues that are of concern to blind people in terms of making communities more “livable” for people who are visually impaired.
Most members of Congress now have web sites. Those of you with access to the Internet can glean a lot of information about how your members have voted and the issues that are important to them by spending a little time on their web sites. If you find that you can’t access the information on those sites, then you already have an important issue to talk about, since you can bet that members want their constituents to know what they have to say!
If you aren’t yet computer savvy, or you don’t have access to the technology you need to surf the net, you can still learn quite a lot about your legislators by calling their offices and talking with their staff members. Most maintain offices in the districts with local numbers. Ask the administrative aide you speak with what committees your legislator serves on. Members of Congress as well as senators usually put out newsletters outlining a range of issues and positions, as well as crucial votes and projects they think are particularly meaningful to constituents. These newsletters can serve as a pretty good indication of the things your legislators think are important, so if you hire a reader to help you go through your mail, you should include those newsletters from your senators and representatives in the stack to scan and read.
The kinds of information you learn from conversations with staffpersons and your perusal of newsletters can provide the foundation for your future conversations with your legislator. Do you share his or her priorities, or should your legislator change his or hers to coincide with yours?
Once you get the legislator’s attention, how do you keep it? How do you convince them to do what you want them to do? I have found that one of the most effective tools for doing this is sharing your personal story. Do you have a personal experience that can drive your point home? Share it. Has someone you know been helped by a government program, or would they be hurt by the reduction of funding for a project? Let the legislator know about this as well. We’ve all heard the “personal stories” that politicians use to support their positions during debates and speeches. Your stories really can make a difference to legislators, so don’t underestimate their importance.
You might also want to find out as much as you can about your legislator’s voting record on previous legislation that may be of particular interest to you, such as Social Security reform, special education funding, or other disability issues. Your legislator’s voting record will give you some idea of whether your reception will be friendly or hostile. If you are likely to be met with resistance, what might you do to counter that resistance? Would the legislator benefit from hearing some personal stories about how his previous votes have had a negative impact on his constituents?
On the other hand, if the reception is likely to be friendly, could the legislator benefit from a pat on the back? Some members of Congress need to be rewarded for their votes and reminded that their constituents know they have a representative who cares. This kind of information can be useful in preparing for any meeting with a legislator. It can help you strengthen your case and make the legislator feel that the meeting is beneficial for him or her, as well as you.
I encourage all of you who are planning to attend the ACB legislative seminar to get in touch with your legislators’ offices and start gathering information that can give you a head start on making ACB’s case. Then the seminar itself will be the frosting on your cake and we all will have an even more successful experience.