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How to advocate at home
Learn more about getting involved with advocacy through in-district meetings and facility tours.
Have questions? Contact Sarah Heckman, AGA’s senior manager of political affairs & advocacy at [email protected].
Hosting an in-district meeting
In-district meetings are an excellent opportunity to share with your lawmakers, or their staff, how the issues that impact gastroenterology affect you, your patients and your practice. Learn more about the process of scheduling a meeting with your local lawmakers below.
AGA staff is here to help you every step of the way to make advocacy at home quick and easy. Please fill out the in-district meeting form so we can better assist you in your efforts.
Determine your meeting location
- On-site tours and meetings at your practice are one of the most effective advocacy efforts. It’s a valuable opportunity for legislators to understand your role in the community and how the policy issues you discuss are impacting your patients.
- Meeting in the district office is also a great place to meet with your member of Congress, get to know them and their staff, and to make some connections to policy issues impacting the local community. View a sample invitation letter here.
Make contact
Reach out to your legislator’s district office and ask to schedule a meeting.
- Not sure who your member of Congress is? Look them up here, in the AGA Advocacy app, or contact AGA staff to assist you.
- Congressional staff will likely ask what policy issues will be discussed at the meeting. AGA staff can provide you with our most up-to-date issue briefs and talking points on this year’s policy priorities.
- It often can take at least six weeks to schedule a practice visit. You will likely have a few back-and-forth conversations and some schedule adjustments before you secure an official meeting date and time.
Make it official
Set a date, time and location.
- If conducting a practice meeting/tour, share the meeting information with your colleagues, office manager and any patients that might be impacted by the meeting.
- If you work at a hospital or in a large academic setting, please inform your government affairs department of the meeting. They will likely want to work with you to coordinate the meeting.
For practice or facility tours, here are some additional steps to take to ensure a successful meeting:
- Map it out: Map out a route that you plan to take.
- Create an agenda: Draft a meeting agenda to share with the legislator and your colleagues.
- Track the time: Assign a point person to keep track of time.
- Notify your public relations department of the meeting and request a photographer for the meeting.
Share on social media
- Tweet or post on social media about the upcoming meeting and
- Provide updates and a summary with photos following the meeting.
- Make sure to tag AGA (@AmerGastroAssn) in all social media posts and use #AGAAdvocacy.
When meeting your members
- Be prompt and patient. Please keep in mind that these are “working offices” and are very busy; schedules in Congress often change at the last minute and plans may change.
- Review your talking points and background materials prior to the meeting.
- Bring materials to leave behind with the member of Congress.
When meeting with a member of Congress or staff person
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- Dress professional — this is a business meeting.
- Bring business cards if you have them.
- A valid, government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, state-issued ID card, passport) may assist you in getting through security.
- Paper and a pen for notetaking.
- Leave-behind materials for the legislator and staff.
- Send a follow-up/thank you email. View a sample letter here.
- Thank legislator for the meeting via social media.
- Distribute meeting photos to your legislator, state society and AGA.
- Express interest in an upcoming political activity the legislator is leading.
- Update your legislator of ongoing issues impacting you.
- Reach out to your legislator about your position on upcoming legislation.
- Begin an ongoing dialogue.
- Fill out a legislative meeting form to let AGA staff know how your meeting went.
Feeling overwhelmed? Listen to our pro tips for attending a legislative meeting below.
If you are interested in having an in-district meeting with your lawmakers, please complete the form below.
Hosting a facility tour
Tours of your clinic’s facilities or local hospital provide one of the most effective methods of communication between you and your federal legislators. In an age when visibility and image contribute a great deal to effectiveness, seeing and being seen take on new importance for everyone.
- Visiting a clinic or hospital gives legislators a valuable opportunity to develop a
good sense of the role gastroenterology plays in the community. - Tours are particularly useful for introducing legislators to a large number of
constituents and voters. - Tours present you and other physicians and their families with a chance to get to know your legislator and to describe first-hand the problems you face.
Before organizing a facility tour, you should consider the following:
- What will the tour accomplish for your legislative agenda? Will the meeting
provide a concrete opportunity to explain how an issue affects gastroenterology
or is the tour only meant to build rapport. - How will your legislator benefit from the tour? In addition to meeting
constituents, be sure to give the legislator relevant and useful information. If
possible, plan other opportunities, such as a speaking engagement at a staff
meeting or a county medical society meeting prior to or following the tour. - Will you benefit from the tour? Be certain that the meeting is a prime opportunity for you to establish or build a constituent relationship with your legislator.
- Are there options other than a tour that can help you achieve your objectives?
Ensure that the time invested in planning and conducting a tour is well spent.
Sometimes, other options are more appropriate. For example, you may decide to
host a fundraiser in your home on behalf of your legislator’s election campaign.
Careful planning for a visit by a legislator maximizes results. The following points are helpful in setting up the meeting:
- Send a written invitation to the legislator. Don’t be discouraged if it takes several invitations before the legislator accepts. Legislators have many demands on the time they spend in the district or state. Your persistence will pay off. View a sample invitation here.
- Develop a schedule that allows enough time to tour the facility and to enjoy informal discussion. If the legislator’s schedule permits, plan for a small luncheon or reception following the tour.
- Find out who will be accompanying the legislator and make necessary
transportation arrangements to and from the facility. - Let your colleagues, employees or hospital staff know the exact date and time of the visit in advance. If possible, share the highlights of the legislator’s biography. Introduce colleagues by name. Remember, all citizens are constituents and potential voters.
- Try to include colleagues or associates who you know are politically active locally or who have a special relationship with the legislator or staff member.
- Map out the route. Choose particular areas that illustrate the points you want to
make. Include quiet areas to talk along the way. - If appropriate, arrange to have a photographer cover the tour and take photographs for use in various AGA or local publications.
- Keep track of time. Don’t rush the tour, but keep things moving. Find out how much time your guest has.
- Leave someone in charge of receiving messages for the legislator and make sure he/she knows where to reach you during the tour.
- If the legislator’s schedule will not permit an informal luncheon or reception,
conclude the tour or visit with a short private discussion in your office or the
physicians’ lounge. It might be advantageous to arrange for the legislator to
meet with selected colleagues or other community leaders. In either case, discuss the issues of greatest importance to gastroenterology and your community.
- Write a note of thanks after the legislator has visited your clinic or hospital or
attended a special event. In that letter, re-emphasize key points made during the visit. View a sample letter here. - Express interest in the legislator’s political and legislative activities. Ask to receive the legislator’s newsletter.
- If photos were taken during the tour or visit, send copies to the legislator and to AGA.
- Provide the legislator with copies of any newspaper or AGA newsletter articles detailing his/her visit.
- Visit key aides or friends who accompanied the legislator to the facility. Express
interest in continuing contact with them. - Urge other GIs to make their views known to their legislators concerning bills
and legislation affecting medicine. - Inform your legislator of your activities and continuing problems. Don’t hesitate to state your position on upcoming legislation.
- Keep track of what your legislator is doing and how he/she is voting. Send a note of thanks when the legislator pleases you with votes on an issue. Also, let your legislator know when a vote is contrary to the well-being of GI health care.
- Fill out a legislative meeting form to let AGA staff know how the meeting went.
Take a minute to view our tips and ideas for conducting a successful facility tour.
Questions?
AGA staff is just an email or phone call away. If you have any questions about advocacy at home or how to navigate the scheduling process, contact Sarah Heckman, AGA’s senior manager of political affairs & advocacy at [email protected] or 301-272-0024.
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