HOW TO LOBBY CONGRESS MARYLIN WINKLE Bonner Spring Retreat 2009 Student Advocacy Workshop.

HOW TO LOBBY CONGRESS

MARYLIN WINKLE

HOW TO LOBBY CONGRESS

MARYLIN WINKLE

Bonner Spring Retreat 2009

Student Advocacy Workshop

What Do You Mean, “Advocacy”?What Do You Mean, “Advocacy”?

The Fact Is…The Fact Is…• Politicians are elected to Congress to act as representatives for the needs and wants of the constituents they represent. These individuals are our servant-leaders, just as we are for our service sites.

•They are not authoritarians, and therefore we should not be afraid to confront them with our demands for movement in the direction of justice.

When would a person engage in advocacy?

When would a person engage in advocacy?

Taking a Look at History: The HolocaustTaking a Look at History: The Holocaust

On November 9th, 1938, a series of Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues were looted; this night has since been recorded in history as Kristallnact, “the night of broken glass.” During the seven years that followed, 6 million Jews and 5 million “undesirables” (as they were known to the Nazis: Slavs, gypsies, homosexuals, handicapped citizens, and political and religious rebels) lost their lives. We know this seven-year period as the Holocaust.

Taking a Look at History: The HolocaustTaking a Look at History: The Holocaust

In 1946, the Nuremburg Tribunal was established to try the perpetrators of the genocide for their crimes. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which provided a working definition for the newly coined term “genocide” and made it a crime under international law, was adopted in 1948. The Fourth Geneva Convention was enacted in 1949, mandating the protection of civilians, in the hands of an enemy or under foreign occupation, during times of war.

Taking a Look at History: The Rwandan Genocide


Tensions in Rwanda between the once-dominant minority Tutsis and the majority Hutus periodically erupted in anti-Tutsi violence since the Hutus gained power after independence from Belgium in 1962. After a civil war between exiled Tutsi rebels and the Hutu government ended in a ceasefire and power-sharing agreement, Hutu extremists within and outside the government prepared a Tutsi extermination campaign.



"If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different.”

– US Senator Paul Simon, 1994

And Now a Look at Today: DarfurAnd Now a Look at Today: Darfur

Darfur is an underdeveloped and marginalized region in the west of Sudan, which is the largest country in Africa. The region is home to many diverse ethnic groups, all of whom are Muslim and all of whom suffer from a lack of development in Darfur.


For five years, the Government of Sudan and its allies the Janjaweed militia have waged a campaign to wipe out the Fur, Massalit, and Zaghawa people. For five years, the Sudanese Army and the Janjaweed have moved from village to village, following the same brutal pattern: carpet bomb the village in the morning, ride in on horseback, kill the men, rape the women, burn every last hut, and drive the survivors into the harsh desert.


After five years, over 400,000 innocent Darfuris have been killed, over 2.5 million driven from their homes, and thousands of villages lie burnt and abandoned.

To this day, the violence in Sudan continues.

And Now a Look at Today: DarfurAnd Now a Look at Today: DarfurAfter we all witnessed the blows from the Holocaust and from the Rwandan genocide, we could ask ourselves how Darfur could have been permitted. Darfur is only one area of focus; symptoms of genocide are vivid in other areas such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burma.

STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition is national movement of students that works cohesively to advocate awareness and legislative action for genocide relief and prevention.

For more information on any of the aforementioned conflicts, visit www.standnow.org or www.stetsonstand.pbwiki.com

What Elected Officials Can Do!What Elected Officials Can Do!

Who decides whether or not the US funds UN peacekeepers in Darfur?

Who can authorize sanctions and financial penalties on countries who are committing genocide or mass atrocities?

The answer? …

The US government: specifically,

our elected officials.


Elected officials, like members of Congress and the President, wield the power to end and prevent genocide, but they won’t act unless they feel pressure from the people who elected them to office.


STAND focuses its energy on making sure elected officials know that there is an anti-genocide constituency in every congressional district, a constituency that will hold its elected officials accountable for ending and preventing genocide. We keep the pressure on through advocacy.

Examples: STAND AdvocacyExamples: STAND AdvocacyIn 2006, The Genocide Intervention Network and STAND established the Sudan Divestment Task Force (SDTF) which called for governments and corporations to boycott business relations that funneled money into Sudan to be used for violence against civilians.

Since the SDTF began its lobbying, over 24 states, 50 universities, and 15 cities have divested; the movement is now growing internationally.

Why Would Anyone Else Lobby Congress?Why Would Anyone Else Lobby Congress?

Plea for the rights of farm

workers in Pierson

Push legislation against animal cruelty

Appeal for state funding for youth development programs and education

Lobby for support of the right of homosexuals to marry

Promote healthcare benefit options during economic crisis

But Marylin… How do I even go about lobbying Congress?But Marylin… How do I even go about lobbying Congress?

A Lobby Training Guide, as taught to STAND Advocates.

Lobbying Congress Step-By-StepLobbying Congress Step-By-Step

I. Know who your representatives are.

II. Be an expert on the legislation you’re lobbying.

(A) Build a relationship with your organization.

(B) Use the internet as a resource.

III. Begin building a relationship with the congressional staff person you’ll be meeting with.

(A) Know which committee(s) the congressman serves on and what leadership positions s/he holds.


IV. Set up your meeting to last about 20-30 minutes.

1) Introduction: Who are you? Who do you represent? Why is your cause important in

your state?

2) ‘Thank You’ Shower: Acknowledge previous actions that representative may have

taken for your cause.

a) You may want to ask a question: Ie- How much do you know about Darfur?


3) Bring the following with you to your meeting:

√ Your contact info

√ One-pager on your cause

√ One-pager on your asks

√ Copy of the bill, as appropriate

√ Photos of events, letters from constituents, articles from local media about your

organization or other cause-related groups/events


4) Directly ask the official to take a specific action, referencing existing legislation by bill and name.

(a) Congressional staffers are busy and have a lot of issues on their plates:

bring them a copy of the legislation you’re talking about, noting the important sections.

5) Questions/ Concerns- Directly ask what you could do to make their job easier.

(a) Keep the discussion on-task.

(b) If you don’t know the answer to a question, tell them you’ll follow up

asap.


6) Leave with a clear understanding of the staffer’s position and what s/he will do (eg, “speak to my boss to see if he will vote for

this legislation.”).

(a) At the end of the meeting, schedule a good date and time when you can call to follow up.

7) Leave your contact info, and be sure to get their contact info too.


V. FOLLOW UP!

1.) Send an email afterwards thanking him/her for the meeting, providing him/her

with any materials you promised, and politely reminding him/her of the time for your

phone call.

2.) Call the staffer at the time you scheduled. If s/he has done what you asked, thank him or her. Tell him/her that you will let the

grassroots activists you’re in touch with know about his/her actions.


3.) Keep calling in the future. Provide him/her with information about key legislation and what constituents are doing for your cause in his/her boss’s district. If you’ve established a relationship with this office, and they know

they can count on you as a reliable source of information, they’ll be that much more likely to listen to you when there is key cause-related legislation up for a vote in the future.

Visit: http://standnow.org/system/files/How+to+Lobby.pdf

Practice Makes Permanent!Practice Makes Permanent!

HOW TO LOBBY CONGRESS MARYLIN WINKLE Bonner Spring Retreat 2009 Student Advocacy Workshop.

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Transcript of HOW TO LOBBY CONGRESS MARYLIN WINKLE Bonner Spring Retreat 2009 Student Advocacy Workshop.