by
Lisa Thompson
Computing Research Association
Be prepared. Learn something about the member whose office you are contacting, know what committees he/she sits on, and what his/her legislative priorities are. If you are communicating about particular legislation, know the bill number and its status in the legislative process. Contact CRA if you need help obtaining any of this information.
Be clear and concise. Members and congressional staff are very busy and deal with dozens of issues every day. State your primary message at the beginning and stay focused on it throughout your communication.
Be honest and forthcoming. You want your legislators to trust you. Answer questions as thoroughly as possible. If further information is requested, promise to provide it soon and do.
Be respectful. Listen to what they have to say on the topics you raise and respond politely. Take care not to cast aspersions on the political process, even jokingly.
Frame your discussion in a context legislators can relate to. Lawmakers support research programs because they serve the national interest and benefit the American public. You can make the case for computing research even though your legislators might be unfamiliar with computer science and engineering.
Keep letters brief, to one page if possible. State your purpose for writing in the first paragraph. It is often useful to fax your correspondence, but electronic mail might be less effective—some congressional offices have not integrated e-mail into their workplace habits as thoroughly as the academic community has.
The Computing Research Advocacy Network was established to facilitate and enhance the community’s contacts with Congress. Participants are alerted about timely opportunities to weigh in on issues of importance to computing research. There is strength in numbers, especially when it comes to letter-writing campaigns, so the impact of your communications in response to these alerts is reinforced.
Schedule meetings well in advance by calling your legislator’s Washington office, which can be reached through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. For local meetings, you might be referred to the state/district office. Ask to speak to the scheduler, identify yourself as a constituent, and be prepared to tell him/her what topic(s) you plan to cover. Don’t be discouraged if you have trouble scheduling an appointment—remember that each representative has several hundred thousand constituents and most senators have even more. Don’t consider a meeting with a legislative assistant second-best—it is just as important for staffers to become familiar with your views and concerns.
You should expect to have only about 5 minutes with a legislator and about 10-15 minutes with staff. State the purpose of your visit at the beginning of the meeting. If you have a specific request, prepare and bring along brief written materials stating your request and the arguments for your position. Check with CRA to see if it has a Policy Brief or fact sheet that will fill the bill. Long reports should include a one-page summary of findings and recommendations. Don’t overload them with information they are unlikely to read.
Very Important: After the meeting, send the person(s) you met with a thank-you letter and indicate that you would like to continue the dialogue.
Members need to talk with and seek the views of their constituents and are often delighted to have an opportunity to interact with many constituents at once. Invite your state’s legislators to visit your department, laboratory, or campus. Plan a tour for them and an occasion where they can make some remarks. This suggestion also applies to congressional candidates. Inviting incumbents and challengers to a debate on science, technology, and information policy can often be useful in getting them to focus on issues in the field.
Submit your invitation as far in advance as possible. Be aware, however, that it is often difficult for Members of Congress to make commitments more than a few weeks in advance. Try to plan these events during Congressional recesses when legislators are likely to be in their districts.
Take pictures during the event and send photos to the congressional participants.
Try to stay in touch on a regular basis. Find a topic that your member has a personal interest in, or a topic that arises in the committees on which he/she sit, and provide information on it from time to time. Offer yourself as someone on whom they can call when they have questions.
Relate your discussions to your members’ state/region/district as much as possible—they want to know how policy choices affect their constituents. Or frame your arguments in terms of the national interest. Use examples of work taking place at your institution, stated in layman’s terms (this is not as difficult as it sounds).
Remember that you are part of the Democratic process. Present your case rationally. Arguments for computing research are not self-evident and federal support is not an entitlement.
At the same time, the political process is highly competitive so don’t be shy or ambivalent about asking for support for your cause or for the federal agency that funds your work. Legislators expect their constituents to be forthright about their interests.
Most members support basic research in general; they might even tell you that you’re preaching to the choir. But remember: basic research competes for attention and funds with hundreds of other causes. Legislators need to be reminded as often as possible that they have constituents who are concerned about funding for basic research and who are paying attention to federal policy. Ask for their active support and offer to help them express it, eg. volunteer to write brief remarks on the importance of computing research or information technologies R&D that members can make on the House or Senate floor.
Avoid negative arguments. In particular, do not criticize support for other areas of science or suggest they are overfunded. Support for computing research will flourish only in an environment where science as a whole flourishes.
Work with other scientists, engineers, and educators on campus. Form a college- or institution-wide committee for making regular contacts with lawmakers and for sharing information. Communicate with your institution’s leaders about science and education policy; they might be working on the same issues you are. Academic and scientific organizations in Washington often work together. So when you receive an Advocacy Alert from CRA, it might have been timed to coincide with similar alerts sent by organizations in other scientific and engineering disciplines and with those of groups like the Association of American Universities and the National Association for State Universities and Land-Grand Colleges in which university presidents participate.