Visiting DC

Meeting with Congress

What to Expect

Anticipate 15-30 minutes for a meeting.
Congressional office staff turnover frequently and have a wide range of topics they cover. Do not be off put by young staff or if they do not have background in your area. Their job is to learn about your issue and convey its importance to the member of Congress. Make them your ally!

Prior to Meeting

Determine roles for each person in your group
- Choose one person to start the meeting with introductions of all participants. Determine the lead by who has the closest relationship with the Representative’s district. If you have business cards, please share them at this time.
- Each person should be prepared to
  1. highlight a different reason why your topic is important and
  2. share a short personal narrative of why.
  3. Generally, try to identify examples of your topics’ programs, how your topics’ programs are administered and request levels, and provide context on why support is important.
- Choose one person to close the meeting with a summary and reinforcing the ‘ask’. Thank the member/staff for their support.
Identify who will be responsible for leaving behind any background documents.

During the Meeting

Be prompt! You may have to wait out in the hallway since office space is tight since congressional schedules often change at the last minute.
Stick to a 15-20 minute presentation. Staff are overbooked so no matter how interesting they find your presentation, they have another constituent waiting to meet with them.

Quick Tips

Ask questions:
- What does a staffer understand about your program?
- What are the member of Congress’s priorities in this area?
Avoid technical terminology—do not assume that the staff will know what you are talking about.
Illustrate the programs with personal narratives
- Work as a Team, ask someone on your team to describe a program in more detail.
Do not assume you know what the Member will say/think based on political affiliation. Each meeting is different and new.
If you don’t know the answer, follow up after the meeting.
Do not rush. This meeting is only one step in the process of maintaining and developing a relationship.
- The goal is to capture their interest and trust, and to build support for your issue.
- Offer the university as a resource of information on your issues.
Remember to say THANK YOU for support.

Questions?

Do you have a Leave Behind document and an electronic one?
Identify who is responsible for sending the thank you note.
If a staffer asks for information or has a question you cannot answer, please let Federal Relations assist you!

Faculty Fly-In Participant Information

Thank you for alerting us to your visit to Washington, D.C. The Office of Federal Relations is happy to assist you with your visit, if requested. We are available to meet with you to discuss your advocacy beforehand, assist with scheduling, and work with the sponsoring professional association as needed.

If you would like us to assist, below is the information we will need for logistical considerations. This information is a request – so feel free to share the information you feel is appropriate. Please contact Shelby Beck, Federal Relations Associate, at sbeck1@ufl.edu with any questions.

Meeting Requests

The Federal Relations office has relationships with the Florida Congressional Delegation and can assist with scheduling meetings as needed.
The Federal Relations team can suggest meetings based on your subject matter and legislative position and can coordinate with the fly-in sponsor.
Please note, meetings may not be confirmed until the last minute. We will send draft and finalized itineraries as soon as they are available.
As meetings confirm, we will send calendar invitations to block the time on your schedule.

Scheduling Information

Fly-in participant(s) contact information.
Availability – please share the dates and times you are available for meetings, including your flights and other time restrictions.
Hotel – please share where you are staying, so we can group meetings to account for travel time.

What to Bring

Background materials - It is often helpful to prepare “leave-behinds,” or background documents that are typically one page, front and back, and contain information on the topic(s) of discussion or examples of your research or scholarship. You will want to include your name and contact information on your materials to assist with follow-up. Providing a virtual and physical copy of the information is often helpful. Please let us know if you need us to print materials for the meetings.
Business cards – while optional, they are helpful to share with your meeting targets to assist with follow-up.
Dress on Capitol Hill is usually business/business casual.
Scheduling is often compact and could require significant walking. Please wear comfortable shoes.

What to Expect

Meetings are typically 20 minutes and held in cramped congressional offices.
Meeting format is usually 10 minutes of presentation and 10 minutes of questions.
You will receive an itinerary approximately one week in advance of your arrival. This itinerary will contain meeting locations, times, and participants.
UF’s Federal Relations team is available to meet with you prior to your fly-in to review meeting requests, handouts, and provide background on your meetings.
UF’s Federal Relations team can attend meetings as requested.

FAQs

Please see the attached document for lobbying FAQs

Lobbying FAs