In a new Congress, there is excitement about what there is to come with new and returning members of Congress.
For returning Members:
- Send a congratulatory note to your members of Congress for winning their election.
- Send a personal note to key congressional staff. Mention that you look forward to working with them in 2023 and beyond.
- Confirm committee assignments for your congressional delegation. Many members of Congress change subcommittees and committees or assume leadership roles.
- Post a message to Twitter and Facebook about their new assignments or supportive comments toward agriculture.
For a Freshman Member of Congress:
- Send a congratulatory note. Ask county presidents in the district to consider sending a note as well.
- Confirm committee assignments. They may be in surprisingly important positions.
- Keep track of staff hires and reach out to build relationships with the chief of staff, legislative director, and press secretary. (Don’t forget the scheduler, too!)
- Make note of their being sworn into office and if they are making a tour of the district/state.
- Post comments to Twitter and Facebook about their new assignments or if they’ve made supportive comments about working with agriculture.
- Check out their official website and sign up for e‑newsletters and alerts.
- Schedule an introductory meeting with the new staff to go over key legislative issues.
- Offer to host a farm tour in the district/state for legislators and staff.
Writing a message to Congress – either an email or letter – is an excellent way to make your voice heard and participate in the democratic process. Many members of Congress keep track of what their constituents are writing about and care about. Remember, they are your elected representatives in Washington, D.C. While you might write on an issue that many of their constituents care about, you might have a perspective that the lawmaker or their staff have not heard.
After your visit: follow-up with a thank-you letter or email and include any information that was requested by the legislator or staff. This will strengthen your relationship and leave a positive impression with the legislator’s office.
Here are several questions to ask yourself before you sit down and craft your letter:
- Is your lawmaker new to Congress?
- Is your lawmaker undecided or unaware of the issue you’re writing about?
- Is there a vote on the horizon that deals with your issue?
- Is there a bill you would like your lawmaker to review, consider, introduce or cosponsor?
Addressing and Salutation: It is important to address your letter appropriately when writing to lawmakers. Equally important is how you refer to them in the salutation of your letter.
You can find the name of your senator by going to senate.gov and the name of your House representative by going to house.gov.
When addressing your letter, please use the following format:
For Your Senator: The Honorable (full name) (Room Number) (Name) Senate Office Building United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator (last name):
For Your House Representative: The Honorable (full name) (Room Number) (Name) House Office Building United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Representative (last name):
1. Introduce yourself
Start off with a little bit about yourself: Who you are, where you live, where you work (if appropriate) and how long you have been in the state or district.
2. Why are you writing?
If you are writing to congratulate them on their election, send your congratulations. If you are writing about a specific issue or bill, you should state the purpose of your letter. For example, “I am writing today to voice my support for XXXX.” Support your position. Here you can use a paragraph to explain further why you have made your stance. If you have a personal story, add it, but keep it concise. If others in your state or district would benefit from your stated purpose, make that known as well.
3. Make your ask
After you have provided background on your position or information about a new policy, use the next paragraph to ask your lawmaker to take an action. Do you want them to introduce a bill, cosponsor a bill or defeat a bill in their chamber? This is the time to make your ask. For example, “Supporting research in pediatric cancer is important to me, which is why I am asking you to cosponsor XXXX.”
4. Close the message
Now that you have introduced yourself, stated your purpose in writing, and made your request, you will need to close the letter. Here you can decide whether to be formal or a little more personal. For example:
“Thank you for taking the time to listen to my point of view. Sincerely, Your Name.”
or “Thank you for taking the time to listen to my point of view. Best regards, Your Name.”
Now that you have written your message, give it a quick review. Make sure you have made all the necessary points and have corrected any spelling or grammar mistakes. Remember, your vote counts and lawmakers and their staff are in their position to serve you and truly want to hear from their constituents on issues that are important to them.
Meetings with your elected officials provide an opportunity for you to discuss the work you do and how the issues they are working on impact your local community. You are their constituent.
Legislators come home regularly to their districts/states. During these "work periods," they are focused on holding events and meeting with constituents. In the past, they engaged in town halls, so they could talk to many constituents at once. These events unfortunately have lost importance given the interactions of the audience.
Whether you talk with a legislator alone, in a small group, or at a town hall, it is important to be prepared. Be sure to provide your story on the key issue and “ask” the legislator for their position. We urge you to look for opportunities for smaller meetings, such as “Coffee Chats” with your legislator.
Regulatory advocacy is becoming more important. The agriculture industry is affected by the increasing number of regulatory proposals at the state and federal levels. Regulations can have a longer and more direct impact on your business and life.
Therefore, when the public comment is open, farmers and ranchers need to submit their comments to the public docket. Farmers and ranchers need to make sure regulators know their position on key issues. Regulators need to know the impact and effect of regulations on farms and ranches.
Many times, regulators want numbers of identical comments to show broad support. This can be in the form of letters, postcards or petitions.
Finally, it is important to remember the regulation process is never-ending! An administration will often try to “clarify” or undo what the previous administration proposed and/or finalized. In the area of regulatory advocacy, it is common to fight the same issue for many decades.
Food and agriculture issues are a hot topic these days. You know the old adage—if you don’t tell your story, someone else will do it for you. And so often, those eager to tell agriculture’s story have biases against the way farmers and ranchers do their jobs. Studies show that the public has a high level of trust for farmers and ranchers as individuals.
There are few opportunities to reach a wider audience than through the media outlets. So it’s important that when we get the chance, we have members who are willing and able to represent what they do and why they do it when the media calls.
Interview Tips:
- Determine your interview goal.
- Stay focused on your key message(s), and repeat them frequently.
- Think and speak in terms of headlines, followed by the story.
- Block and bridge to refocus the interview or address difficult questions.
- Keep answers brief.
- Say only what you want to say, then stop.
- Avoid jargon and acronyms.
- Meet media deadlines.
When the Media Calls: Questions to Ask
- What is the reporter’s name and media affiliation (radio, TV, newspaper, magazine, website)?
- What is their phone number and contact information?
- What is the topic of the interview?
- What is the story’s objective or angle?
- Who is the primary audience?
- Who else will be interviewed for this story?
- What else should be notified or consulted?
Continuous year‑round advocating efforts at home make all the difference on Capitol Hill. Advocacy shouldn’t be something that only takes place in Washington, D.C. Partner with your state Farm Bureau to try some of the following ideas throughout the coming year. The activities and times are suggestions, as many can occur at the same time or at various times of the year.
Year‑Round Activities:
- Recruit, recruit, recruit. Urge friends, Farm Bureau members and others in your community to get involved. Urge them to join your state’s advocacy program.
- Take Action. Take action online via alerts sent by AFBF and your state Farm Bureau.
- Make phone calls. A phone call may be the most effective alternative to in‑person meetings with elected officials. It never hurts to call a local office with new information or to urge action on a bill.
- Media Messaging. Radio? TV? Blogs? Newspapers? Social networks? Each can help you get the word out. Whether share information with legislators on Twitter and Facebook or find mutual connections on LinkedIn. Monitor legislator activities for insights into their interests and actions, then communicate with them directly.
Sample Schedule by Month (suggestions):
- January: Welcome Back Congress & Learn About New Legislators
- February: Advocate Recruitment
- March: Social Media Outreach
- April: In‑District Meetings & Local Events
- May: Advocate Recruitment
- June: Media Outreach
- July: Member Recruitment & Local Events
- August: Town Halls, Coffees with Congress & Candidate Events
- September: Telephone Outreach
- October: Policy Development
- November: Social Media Outreach
- December: Thank Your Legislators
Congress has adjusted the way it interacts with constituents. Virtual and remote meeting options are a new, and sometimes necessary, way to advocate between you and your elected officials.
Your virtual or remote meeting strategies should mimic in‑person advocacy tactics. First and foremost, you should have a plan and advocates should be prepared before the meeting.
- The ideal number of advocates or constituents for a virtual meeting is 5.
- The cameras should be on for ALL participants.
- Everyone should be on time.
Telephone town halls can allow large scale, controlled interactions for hundreds of participants with your member of Congress. Callers can ask questions in a moderated forum and are often directed to connect with a lawmaker’s office via a patch-through either during or following the call.
The key element of every tactic in this toolkit is the personal story. It’s important to understand why personal stories are so influential with policymakers. Legislators make it a high priority to keep in touch with their constituents. They set aside a substantial amount of time to meet with residents from their district or state. The meetings that make the biggest impression on them are those where the constituent has shared a personal story and explained why the legislation they seek will make a difference to them. These constituents have an impact because they put a “face” on the issue. The story connects the dots for the member: how a bill is hurting, or could help, a resident, and what the practical impact of the bill is for constituents in that district. The more time an advocate spends thinking through their story and how to talk about it, the more effective it will be when the story is shared as part of an event or conversation.
Building Trust on the Farm
Constituent Video Testimonials
Capturing video testimonials is now a common practice … and an influential one. Record video messages that showcase your farm and ranch, animals, equipment, successes and challenges. These videos can then be sent to lawmakers, shared on social media, or held for future use. The most common videos from farmers and ranchers include testimonial, issue impact, explanation or procedural/how to. Above all else: keep it simple. Videos should be clear enough that the content is quickly understandable.
Virtual or Video Farm Tours
A virtual farm tour is an alternative to inviting a Member of Congress or their staff to visit your farm and ranch. Throughout the year, farmers and ranchers are always working. And during times of planting, harvest, calving, severe weather, drought and other times, farmers and ranchers have a video to show. A first-person video can help put virtual visitors in the middle of the action. Any video or photos can help provide lawmakers with much-needed context. Above all else: keep it simple. Videos should be clear enough that the content is quickly understandable.
Sign up to Receive FB Advocacy Action Alerts
Staying up-to-date on important policy and regulatory actions in Washington, DC is easy. Sign up here for FB Advocacy Alert. Your voice, combined with thousands of farmers and ranchers across the country, is needed to support our issues.
Find Your Legislators
There are multiple resources available to find your elected officials at each level of government. For starters, visit house.gov or senate.gov. Insert your ZIP code to get the contact information for all of your lawmakers, from the president of the United States to your federal legislators, state lawmakers, and other officials.
Individualized Emails
Emails are one of the best ways to contact Congress. As a constituent, you carry a lot of power with your elected officials — remember, they work on your behalf. While our pre‑written letters will cover most of the basics, here are some more tips on writing to legislators:
• Begin by introducing yourself as a constituent and a member of Farm Bureau. Many legislators won’t accept letters or emails from outside their district.
• Make “the ask” and make it personal. In the first paragraph, specify what action you want taken and, if possible, refer to bills by name or number. Legislators can’t know what you want them to do unless you tell them.
• Briefly share your story about how your legislator’s actions will directly impact you, your community, your job and your family.
• Keep the length of your email to three or four paragraphs and 100 words or less.
Interact with Legislators on Social Media
Social media has radically enhanced the way constituents communicate with legislators — and vice versa. Legislators have shifted much of their energy and attention to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs to be more accessible to those they represent. Additionally, electronic communications are fast, inexpensive and allow legislators to respond more quickly.
We encourage you to use social media to talk about our policy priorities and use your pictures and stories to really highlight the issue. You can also use social media to:
• Follow lawmakers to know what they are saying about particular bills.
• Communicate with them.
• Let your personal and professional networks know where you stand on critical issues and encourage them to act.
Make Timely and Effective Phone Calls
The window of opportunity to influence legislation when Congress or a state legislature is in-session can be very short. A personal phone call to your legislator’s office is always an effective and timely advocacy tool. When calling your legislator’s office:
1. Provide your name and address so you are recognized as a constituent. Also, identify yourself as a Farm Bureau member.
2. Identify the bill or issue you are calling about by its name and/or number if you have it.
3. Briefly state how you would like your legislator to vote.
Visit Your Legislators
Visiting your legislators is by far the most effective means of conveying your message. In a recent survey, 77 percent of congressional staffers said that an in-person visit carried the most weight in terms of delivering a constituent message. Building a positive face-to-face relationship requires you to plan ahead. If you would like to visit your legislator, you may want to contact your state Farm Bureau government relations department to ensure that your efforts and messages are coordinated. The offices may have new staff and they need to know who you are. Ask how they want to receive communications from Farm Bureau members — email, phone or personal visit.
