HCAN Lobby Training Grass Tops Leaders

JUNE 25

CONTENTS• Grass Tops Leaders

What is a Grass Tops Leader? Which Grass Tops Leaders Should Lobby?

• Goals for June 25th Lobby Day• Political Context

Timing & Legislation Targets Goals for Each Target

• Components & Agenda for Lobby Visits• Basic Lobby Skills• Practicing Your Lobby Visit• Tips for Lobbying Your Members of Congress

What is a “grass tops” leader?

• An organizational leader who represents members (labor, faith, community, advocacy);

• A local or state elected leader (Mayor, City Councilman, State Representative);

• A local opinion leader (academic, journalist, author, business owner);

• A donor who influences the Member of Congress

Which grass top leaders should lobby Members of Congress?

• Represent a constituency that the Member cares about (veterans, doctors, small biz, labor, etc.)

• Have a personal relationship with the Member;• Credibility with the media and with the public so that

the leader could influence public opinion around the Member’s health care position or the Members himself/herself.

GOALS FOR JUNE 25 Lobby Visits

• To influence Members of Congress to support our version of reform.

• To move Members to proactively “champion” HCAN/Obama reform.

• To demonstrate the public demand and urgency for reform by displaying the breadth and diversity of our HCAN campaign.

• To advance our state campaigns by energizing leaders and grassroots activitists at a key point in the Congressional debate.

Political Context

• Bills in the Senate CommitteesSenate HELP legislation will be released by June 15th.Senate Finance Committee Legislation—coming soon after—

concerns about content.

• House bills coming in late June/early July• July and August Recesses—escalating debate.• “Trigger” Debate raging in the Senate and

expanding to Blue Dogs in the House.• Health Care Can’t Wait—We must pass a bill this

year!

[State] Congressional Targets

Senate TargetsSenator [XXXX]—[Name] CommitteeSenator [XXXX]—[Name] Committee

House TargetsRepresentative [XXXX]—[Name] CommitteeRepresentative [XXXX]—[Name] Committee

Update & Goals for Each Target

• For DiscussionWhere is each of your targets on the HCAN principles,

especially the public health insurance plan?What are the key goals for interaction with each Member?What message and spokespeople will most move the

Member on June 25th?What specific commitment will we ask the Member for on

June 25th?(Note: the commitment we ask for will depend on what specifically is happening with the bills on June 25th—HCAN will have a particular ask for all lobby groups as we move closer to the date.)

Components of Lobby Visits

• Preparation & Agenda Review (before visit)• Introductions & Purpose• Educating the Member

Review of HCAN Work So FarTestimonies & StoriesMaterials & Policy

• “The Ask”—Getting a Commitment• Summary & Follow Up Steps• Debrief & Evaluation with Lobby Team (after visit)

Sample Agenda for Lobby Visit

• Introductions—Moderator facilitates Name, organization for each person

• Frame this visit—Moderator/Organizer Why are we here today? What is the larger context (June 25th Day of Action)? Reference past contact with the Member/staff and where we

think the Member stands.

• What are our specific concerns? Story 1—Grasstops Leader Story 2—Grasstops Leader Story 3—Grasstops Leader

Sample Agenda (continued)

• Getting a Commitment from the Member At this point, the Moderator can review the testimony, offer any

materials on recent developments (i.e. the “trigger”) and ask the Member to take action. For instance, the MOC can take proactive step as a champion to talk to a colleague;

You can ask the Member to participate in a public event during July or August recess;

You can ask the Member for a commitment to oppose or support a particular amendment, provision, etc.

• Conclusion and Follow UpThank the Member for his time and commitmentAgree to follow up steps and a timeline.

Testimony/Stories

• Telling your story1. Be brief (3-5 minutes)2. Tell the Member where you live and that you are a

constituent.3. Make your story relevant by illustrating a specific point:

“I’m a family farmer in the most rural part of the state—there’s only one insurance company and that company won’t cover me because I’m fifty five and have a pre-existing condition.”“I’m a nurse and I see people every day who have health insurance but still can’t get access to care because they can’t afford the out-of-pocket co-pays or they can’t afford the prescriptions that are part of preventative care.”

4. Tie your story to the larger purpose of the lobby visit:“I want a commitment, Senator, that health care reform is going to address the concerns of people like me in our state.”

Tips on Telling Stories• You do not need to be a policy expert to tell your

story. Stories illustrate the policy in a way that moves the Member.

• You should be prepared to respond to questions that may come up after you tell your story—select a message to use as your response and repeat it often.

• Always connect your story to the bigger picture and treat it as an example of the larger problems in the health care system so that your story is part of a pattern.

Exercise: Practice Telling Your Story

• Write your story down using no more than 5 bullet points (do not exceed one page).

• Practice telling your story.• Practice responding to questions about your

story with one line: “There are lots of people like me who have similar experiences

with insurance companies. Our system doesn’t work for too many people—that’s why we should have a choice of a public health insurance option.”

What if the MOC tries to avoid a commitment?

• Members sometimes avoid answering the question or making a commitment by:

Trying to get your delegation off-agenda by raising other objectives or chatting about other things.

The Member will sometimes make excuses about timing or needing more information before making a commitment.

Hurrying off to a meeting.Directly refusing to answer or respond to your ask.

Exercise: Making the Ask

• Come up with 5 different ways to ask your Member for the same commitment.

• Have each of your delegation members to incorporate the “ask” into their story or their piece of the agenda.

• Practice silence after each ask--make sure you give the Member a cue to respond by creating some silence that shows that you are waiting for an answer.

Potential “asks” for MOCs

• Would you talk with your colleague in the Senate (specify the Member) and encourage him/her not to support the “trigger?”

• Would you attend an event with constituents during the upcoming recess?

• Would you sign an op-ed or letter to the editor stating your position on this issue?

• Other “asks” will depend on what’s going on with the bills on June 25th.

Leave with a follow up plan!

• Get a specific commitment or a specific timetable for a commitment (including date).

• Take names—who specifically will you talk with back in the district or on the MOCs staff to complete the follow up?

• What specific steps or materials will you need: a letter, a phone call, an email, etc. that will give you the pretext for your next contact with the MOC or his/her staff?

Role Play Your Lobby Visit

• Assign RolesModerator/FacilitatorTestimonials (Stories)Member of Congress or MOC StaffOther “expert” or Grass Tops Leader

Keep in mind, not everyone in the delegation musthave a speaking role. It’s a short visit in many cases,so choose speakers with care.

Potential Scenarios• Select a scenario or develop your own based on your

knowledge of the Member of Congress.

1. MOC tries to avoid the ask by assuring the delegation that he supports reform but not reaffirming his/her position on the public health insurance plan.

2. MOC agrees to oppose the “trigger” and to talk with colleagues about it, but not to specific steps.

3. MOC agrees to keep an “open mind” when it comes to the public health insurance option and your delegation wants to press for a concrete commitment for the MOC to stop making negative public comments about the public health insurance option.

Determine the “Ask”

• Figure out what you are asking the Member to do based on which scenario you choose.

• Decide who in your delegation will make the ask.

• All other delegation members should practice incorporating the ask into their speaking roles as well in case you need to ask more than once.

Practicing Your Visit

• Use the potential scenarios, exercises on telling your stories and sample agenda to practice the lobby visit.

• Debrief your practice lobby visit.What did you do well as a delegation?What was the most challenging?What would you do differently on the real visit you

will do on June 25th?What unexpected questions or issues came up that

you will need to prepare for on June 25th?

Tips for Lobby Visits• Bring a delegation who will resonate with your Member

(people who represent constituencies he/she cares about)• Bring materials that summarize the policy points and/or

history of the campaign so that you don’t have to cover all that material in the visit, but can leave time for stories, etc.

• Focus on what the Member will do, don’t argue about what he/she won’t do. Our tone, for the most part should be cooperative, not combative, even if the visit gets frustrating.

• Prepare as a delegation and make sure everyone is on the same page so that unexpected messages or issues don’t come up in the visit. Everyone should be in agreement ahead of time about the “ask” in the visit.

HCAN Policy Materials You Can Use to Prepare for Your Visit

HCAN has many policy/message materials you can use to prepare yourdelegation. Visit http://hcanmaterials.org for these materials.

**Please contact Levana at llayendecker@healthcareforamericanow.org for acess to the site.

Suggestions:HCAN Policy BriefsTalking Points on the TriggerNew Message Documents based on recent focus groups

HCAN will also produce lobby visit materials to leave withMembers that are specific to June 25th asks and the politicalcontext as we near the date.

Follow Up Plan for Your State HCAN Campaign

In addition to a concrete plan for specific follow up with your Members

of Congress, you should have a plan to share the outcome of your DCvisit with your state partners and their Members.

• Suggestions for sharing your June 25th experience: 0n-line tactics like e-alerts and pictures on your state HCAN website. Live blogging from June 25th to your state/local blog post. A leaflet with a picture of your delegation with the Member to share

with your HCAN member groups. Videotape your June 25th trip and post it to website. Write a template newsletter column for org. newsletters and/or an

LTE or op-ed signed by one of the Grass tops Leaders on your visit to submit to the local media.

Organize a local press conference “echo” event after your visit to get press coverage about your Member’s position.