Wellstone Action!

Setting up a meeting with an elected official

Requesting Your Meeting

Locate the contact information for your Member of Congress's office. You can find it online at www.house.gov or www.senate.gov or call 202-224-3121 for an operator to direct you to your Representative or Senator.

• Make your request in writing. Mail a meeting request letter to the Appointment Secretary or Scheduler at the location where you wish to hold the meeting. If the requested meeting is urgent, a fax or email will suffice.
• Suggest specific times and dates for your meeting.
• Let them know what issue and legislation (by bill number, if you have one) you wish to discuss.
• Make sure they know that you are a constituent.

Setting up the meeting

• Follow up your letter with a phone call about ten to 14 days before you'd like to meet. Direct the call to the Appointment Secretary or Scheduler. Be sure the right person received it and to find out the name of the specific staffer with whom to continue your follow-up efforts.
• The scheduler for each office is listed in the Opportunity Finance Network's U.S. Congress Handbook, with the title "Scheduler," "Appointment Secretary," or "Executive Assistant." Schedule a time and date for your meeting.
• Confirm the meeting on the day prior to the meeting. This also will allow you to inform the scheduler of those planning to be in attendance.
• Follow up by phone or e-mail to confirm your appointment a day or two before the meeting.

Tips for a successful meeting:

• Bring materials to the meeting that you can leave with your elected official. This may include your main talking points, recent editorials on the issue and letters of support.
• Decide who will attend the meeting. Bringing more than four to five people can be hard to manage. Try to bring people who represent different groups who care about the legislation and who have personal stories to tell.
• Agree on talking points before the meeting. It's tough to make a strong case if your group is disagreeing during the meeting. Make a list of key arguments ahead of time and if you can't agree on a point, then leave it out.
• Plan out the meeting. People can get nervous during the meeting and time is limited. Be sure to discuss who will say what ahead of time, including who will start the conversation.
• Decide what you want to achieve. What is it that you want your member of Congress to do? Asking your member of Congress or their staff person to do something specific will help you know if your meeting was successful. Asking your member of Congress to vote our way on specific pieces of legislation is the ultimate goal. However, asking their staff person to report the meeting to the elected official and deliver your materials is also a big step in the right direction.