Having an effective meeting on Capitol Hill means knowing how to set up, prepare for, and attend the meeting in a way that aligns with expectations of members of Congress and their staff. Here are a few pointers on what makes for a successful meeting and helps establish relationships on the Hill.
- Email a request for a meeting to each of your senators and your representatives to the attention of the scheduler. Include the date and the purpose of the visit. If you live in the district or state, it’s important to note that you are a constituent. A typical meeting lasts 20–30 minutes. Get contact information for your members of Congress at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.
- Check in. If you haven’t heard back after a week, follow up with a phone call to the scheduler. If your request continues to go unanswered, call and ask for the staff member who handles energy issues. You may be asked to email a new request.
- Be open to meeting with staff. It is often difficult to get a meeting with members of Congress. Meetings with staff members can often have a significant impact. If the member is not available, request to meet with the staffers who handle energy and tax issues.
- Do your homework. Get up to speed on an issue area by reading the American Public Power Association’s issue briefs. Research the members of Congress you are meeting with so you know their voting record, what committees they are on, and if those committees have jurisdiction over your priority issues.
- Bring your issue home. Be prepared to illustrate how a policy decision in Washington, D.C., will affect your customers. For example, “If tax-exempt financing is limited, electricity bills will increase by X amount.”
- Be relevant. Focus the discussion on issues that are relevant to your utility. For example, if your utility does not get any power from the power marketing administrations, there is no need to mention them.
- Individualize your pitch in a way that will resonate with the officeholder. Take tax-exempt financing — in a Democrat’s office, you might highlight the fact that 75% of U.S. infrastructure is financed through tax-exempt bonds issued by state and local governments; in a Republican’s office, you might stress that allowing the federal government to tax state and local bonds would interfere with local decision-making. Most members just want to know how the issue will affect their constituents. Members who sit on key committees might need more details and get into technicalities. If you don’t know an answer to a question, just say “I’ll have APPA staff follow up with you,” and let us know.
- Be concise and specific. Don’t say, “I want you do something about energy policy.” Do say, “I would like you to support H.R. 123, as it will decrease the regulatory burden on my utility.” If you don’t have a specific request, make your visit very brief. Introduce yourself and your utility, including how many people in their district you serve and which issues you are most concerned about.
- Send a thank-you note to reinforce your message and to leave an impression. The note also provides you with an opportunity to attach any relevant information that was discussed during the meeting, such as statistics on your generation portfolio or issue briefs.
- Always follow up. Legislators and their aides handle many issue areas. It is easy for yours to get lost. Politely thank them for their time and offer yourself as a source of information. You might also want to invite them to visit your projects the next time they are back home.
Please email our Government Relations team with further questions about how to be an effective advocate for public power at Policy@PublicPower.org.
