Advanced Advocacy Building Bipartisan Coalitions to Advance Policy Catherine Finley Thorn Run Partners

How to Prepare for an Effective Meeting Know the Political Landscape What is the Legislative Focus of Congress Learn the Legislative Focus of the Member Identify a Connection with the Member at the Local Level

Political Landscape President Trump has been in office for approximately 15 months There have been a lot of controversies Health care reform failed, Tax reform passed The House is controlled by Republicans: Republicans have the majority with 23 seats – not a large margin in a divided caucus A red seat in Pennsylvania was lost following an unexpected retirement 42 Republicans have announced their retirement, with five already resigning Speaker Ryan resigned, and the battle to replace Speaker Ryan is underway The Senate is controlled by Republicans Republicans have 51 votes – no ability to pass bills under regular order – needs 60 votes Republicans lost an open Senate Seat in Alabama – the reddest of states An easy 2018 mid-term election for Republicans is shaping up to be a challenge

Legislative Focus of Congress Senate With only 51 Republican votes it is extremely difficult to pass legislation Senate led bipartisan effort to pass a two-year budget deal Leader McConnell is focused on advancing nominations and judges, he does not want to debate health care or other controversial issues Senate Republicans want to talk about the tax reform bill House The House is working on a number of controversial issues in committee, including expanding work requirements for safety-net program eligibility The pathway to floor consideration of the controversial issues remains questionable because moderate Republicans do not want to take controversial votes Work weeks are shrinking because of limited number of bills ready for floor consideration

Legislative Focus of Members Questions to ask yourself about the member What issues are of interest to the member? Check his webpage Look for public statements Look at press released/newspaper stories On which committees does he/she sit? Usually found on webpage Does he/she have a leadership role in their party or on committee/subcommittee What type of bills has he/she introduced or cosponsored? https://www.congress.gov// Are they focused on health care Are they focused on mental health or substance use

Connection at the Local Level The best way to connect with a member or their staff is to connect with a local issue that matters. Opioid addiction and overdoses is a focus on Congress Explain what is happening in the state/district around mental health/substance use What role does your organization play in prevention, treatment, recovery Use this story to connect to the advocacy issues: Pick the bills that matter most to you/your organization Explain why these bills matter and what it would mean to the community How can the member be helpful Cosponsor the bill Communicate his/her support to committee chairs/ranking members/leadership Visit your organization or site