How to Get a Meeting With
Your Legislator/Staff

Meeting with your members of congress is one of the most effective ways that you can influence the legislative process. Members are more likely to support positions that their constituents feel strongly about, and there is no better way to display your passion for an issue than by taking the time to have a face-to-face meeting. This is especially important on issues where the opposition, such as the Department of Justice and DEA, is lobbying strongly against legislation you support, or on issues that are relatively new, complex, and sometimes controversial, such as the “opioid crisis” where there is an opportunity to educate policy makers. Meeting with your legislators can be easy and fun. You can meet one-on-one or you can plan a meeting with other activists in your area.

Setting up a meeting

1. Plan, Plan, Plan. If you are willing to invest the time to get a face-to-face meeting with your legislator, be willing to think through what you hope to accomplish from the meeting and how best to go about reaching your goal. Consider what issue you most want to focus on and what your main message on this issue is. What is your legislator’s position on that issue and what do you want your legislator to do after the meeting? It is also important to consider whether having other people join you in the meeting would help you to convey your main message. Bring any relevant materials regarding your topic to leave behind.
2. Find a date and location. If you are meeting with a federal legislator, you will need to find out when your legislator is back in the district. Check their website for the most current information about when they are on recess. If you plan to meet with a state or local legislator, be sure to check their website for details about where the office is.
3. Request the meeting.Your request for a meeting should be initiated by mailing or faxing a letter to the legislator’s scheduler. Call the local office and ask for the names of the legislator’s scheduler. Next, fax or mail a letter requesting a meeting, putting it to the attention of the scheduler. You should indicate how flexible you are with the time of the meeting, as this will increase your chances of getting a meeting during busier days. Below we have provided a sample letter for you to use.
4. Follow-up by phone. Within 24 hours of sending the fax or when you think the letter will have arrived, call the scheduler and confirm his or her receipt of the note. If you have not heard back in three to four days, call the scheduler again and ask if a meeting has been arranged.

Additional tips and resources

1. Consider meeting with the health issues staff person. If the legislator is unavailable to meet, you could actually benefit by meeting with the health issues staff person instead, especially as more people join the cause and also communicate with him/her. The health issues staff person is the office “expert” on the issue and thus has influence with the legislator. If you are persistent and effective, you may be able to parlay a first meeting with an aide into a long-term relationship with that office and/or a meeting directly with the legislator.
2. Have Reasonable Expectations. Don’t expect your legislator to change his/her position after your 20-minute meeting. You should view your meeting as one critical step among many to engage your legislator on the issue.

Sample Meeting Request Letter

[Date]
[Legislator title and name]
[Address]

ATTN: Scheduler’s Name, fax number

Dear [Title Last Name]:

I am writing to request a meeting with you and your aides on the subject of the opioid epidemic. [If appropriate, briefly mention any credentials that would convince the scheduler to make you a priority.][Discuss the reasons for your current request for a meeting—e.g., developments in a piece of legislation you’re concerned about. For example:] I wish to request a few minutes of your time to discuss the recently introduced bill, [bill name].

I will be available to meet with you anytime on the [date(s)] and would be delighted to talk with you then about [the bill]. I would like to bring with me [list colleagues, or other are activists if applicable], also from [your state/district]].

I can be reached at the phone number (s) below, and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Respectfully yours,

Dr./Mr./Mrs. _____________
Institution (if appropriate)
Address
Phone Numbers

Now that you’ve got the meeting set, what’s next? 

How to Have an Effective Meeting With Your Legislator/Staff

Once you have your meeting set, you’ll need to prepare and know what to expect. Here are some tips to ensure you have a productive meeting:

Getting the most out of your meeting

1. Identify your main message. Before the meeting, determine what the main message that you want to convey to your legislator is. For instance, “please play a leadership role in advancing policies to stop government overreach into medicine” or “please vote for bills that will ensure proper pain management for chronic pain patients.”
2. Determine roles for participants. If more than one person is meeting with the legislator designate a group leader to open and close the meeting and a different person to present each issue or main message.
3. Prepare and practice for the meeting. It’s always a good idea to run-through what you intend to say before the meeting itself. If you are meeting with a group of people, have each person practice their part in front of the group. Time permitting—hold a dry run of the entire meeting. Remember to dress nicely, business attire is appropriate. If you are meeting in Washington, D.C. business/formal dress is required in the Capitol building.
4. Introduce yourself. Tell your legislator or staff person your name, where you are from, and that you are a constituent. If you represent an organization, note its name, where the group is located, and the size of its membership. If you are associated with a specific institution, identify it and your field of study (i.e. pain management). If you have any family, social, business, or political ties to the legislator, mention them as well. If possible, thank the member for a good stand they recently took on an issue and/or mention if you voted for the member. At a minimum, thank them for taking the time to meet with you.
5. Take the initiative. State clearly and concisely what issue you want to discuss, what your position is, and what action you want the member to take. Follow this with facts about why they should take your position. Ask questions the legislator can respond “yes” or “no.” Press politely for a commitment, unless the member is clearly opposed to your position or to making a commitment.
6. Make a local connection. Stress how the issue will affect the legislator’s district or state and, if possible, tell a personal story that highlights your experience with the issue and why you care about it.

Additional tools and resources

1. Follow up. Always follow up with a prompt thank you letter. In the letter, reiterate your key points and any commitments the legislator made to you. Include all follow-up information you promised to provide.
2. Let us know how it went. Be sure to let us know the results of your meeting. The more details you can provide us with the better.
3. Bring a “leave-behind” document. Give the legislator a brief fact sheet (one to two pages) that outlines your position and explains what the bill does (if there is one) and why they should support your viewpoint.
4. Drop names. Mention any other organizations, important individuals, government officials, and legislators that support your position.
5. Don’t answer what you don’t know. It’s okay to not know all the answers. Answer questions to the best of your ability, and if you don’t know an answer, admit it. This ensures you maintain credibility and it provides an opportunity for a relevant follow-up letter to provide any additional information.
6. Don’t get discouraged. Members of the legislature are very busy and could be called out of the meeting—or not available at all—leaving you with their legislative aide that handles the issue. Don’t let this discourage you. Meeting with a staff member can be equally or even more productive than meeting with the member. Staff can have tremendous influence over legislators and in many cases know far more about the legislation than the legislators themselves. Be sure to ask the staff person to convey your views and legislative requests to their boss.

Stay on topic. The legislator may hijack the agenda or waste valuable time by bringing up unrelated issues. While it is important to be cordial and flexible, this is a meeting for you to relay your concerns to an elected official. Quickly acknowledge and address their issue and redirect the discussion back to the agenda. Don’t let them take you off-course for more than a moment.