Capitol Hill Visits

Speak up for poor and vulnerable people, here at home and abroad, and make a difference! One of the most important aspects of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering is your visit with your members of Congress on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

To Prepare for these visits, please look at the following resources:

• Message to Congress
  
  
• Advocacy Issues Presentation and PowerPoint

• Getting Ready to Go to Capitol Hill

• Getting to Know Your Member of Congress
  

• FAQs about Visiting Capitol Hill

• Capitol Hill Visits Packet
  

• Background Information on CSMG Legislative Priorities
  

State Delegations

Every participant at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering will be part of their home state delegation.  For very small state delegations, a policy or advocacy staff member from one of the Washington-based Catholic organizations will be available to join in your meetings.

Each state delegation is coordinated by a volunteer state captain. Your state captain should contact you after you have registered for the Gathering.

You will have time to meet with your state delegation on Monday, February 11, 2013 to organize yourselves, select spokespersons on the various issues targeted for advocacy, and confirm the schedule for your congressional meetings.

Scheduling Meetings with Members of Congress

Your state captain is responsible for scheduling your state delegation's meetings with both of your Senators, and will share this important information with you.

You are responsible for scheduling a meeting with your Representative or Senator. However, if there are several people attending the Gathering from the same congressional district, the state captain may ask one person to schedule the meeting. Please schedule meetings between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 12, 2013.

For your Representative's contact information, visit www.house.gov. For your Senator's contact information, visit www.senate.gov.

Never participated in or attended a Congressional meeting before?  Are your advocacy skills rusty?

Join us on Sunday, February 10 at 1:30 p.m. for the First-Time CSMG Attendees Orientation, which will include discussion about legislative advocacy and its role in the CSMG. Then on Tuesday February 12 there will be an Advocacy Fair from 11:00-12:30 a.m., at which participants will sharpen skills and have a last opportunity to get answers to questions on policy issues before heading to our Capitol Hill visits that afternoon. Finally, all participants are encouraged to spend some time in advance of travel to CSMG with the Quick Tips for Advocacy. And those who will be serving as State Captains for legislative visits will find the Information for State Captains and Tips for State Captains webinars especially helpful.

Make your case on Capitol Hill—join our celebration!

Invite those you meet with to join the rest of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering participants in a lively reception on Capitol Hill with key Members of Congress and their staffs. Make sure you brag about how many offices you visited, and how many hearts and minds you changed!

Additional Resource Materials for Hill Visits

• The USCCB web site provides useful general tips concerning Visiting Your Congressional Representative.
• Copies of Global Solidarity in Action: A Guide for International Issue Advocacy in the United States are available at no cost from Catholic Relief Services at 1-866-608-5978.
• An Advocacy Manual: Developing and Changing Public Policies, a Catholic Charities USA publication. Please contact Lucreda Cobbs at (703) 236-6243 or via e-mail at lcobbs@catholiccharitiesusa.org for more information.
• For questions and information about the CSMG Hill visits, please contact Virginia Farris at 202-541-3182 or via e-mail at vfarris@usccb.org.