Lobbying the Hill

Lobbying the Hill

This lobby day was on September 26, 2005. On that day, UFPJ and PDA organized to send people to talk to their Senators and Representatives. These organizations reported that over 1000 people lobbied over 300 members of congress from 40 states. And they did see results! I recommend checking Progressive Democrats of America website to see what the after effects really were from this action. One of them was Brad Miler (NC -13) decided to co-sponsor the No Permanent Bases in Iraq bill.

Anyway, I want to say a word about lobbying in DC. If you are a US citizen and you can talk, then you can do this. You will most likely talk to a Senator's or Representative's aide, however, they will relay your message to your elected official. And sometimes, you will meet face to face with your elected official, as in the elevator (see my blog from January 2005) or in the hallway (see my blog from June 2005). When you walk into the Senate office buildings (or Representatives) you will go through a metal detector and your purse or bags go through a scanner. I recommend not wearing protest shirts or carrying signs or wearing metal. It is perfectly acceptable to bring in stacks and stacks of papers.

We met with the aides of Senator Burr at 9 AM. I, and some others from our congressional district, had to leave early for our appointment with Representative Taylor. In the meeting with Burr, we had one general spokesperson who went through the list of bills that UFPJ and PDA is currently interested in, to see where the Senator stands on these, and to let Mr. Burr know that we support these various measures. Everyone introduced themselves in this meeting, and a couple who was with us talked about torture issues and how our country needs to stop that from happening any more.

We met with Representative Taylor's aide at 10 AM. His name was Adam Shepard. We talked with him about 50 minutes, and it was pretty much back and forth exchange of ideas. Adam said that Mr. Taylor does not think the Downing Street Memos are worth paying attention to, since he thinks they are fake and non-starters. Taylor supports the war in Iraq and he has a son who has served in the Green Zone over there. Adam did not know how Taylor would stand on No Permanent Bases in Iraq (update: Taylor will not co-sign this bill.) and he did not know how Taylor would stand on the "opt-out" issues on the No Child Left Behind and military recruitment bill (update: Taylor does not support overturning this.) Adam said that Taylor supports the war, thinks we have to stay there until the job is done and is not overly concerned with financing the war.

There were seven of us at this meeting, and it was a congenial exchange of ideas, although it turned out that Taylor does not support any of our positions. A couple who was with us talked about the torture issues, and I have heard that they have talked to Adam again since then. I have also contacted Adam since this meeting.

We then went to a lobbying meeting with the aides to Senator Dole. There were 19 people at this meeting and it lasted 45 minutes. We had a man there who's step-son is serving in Fallujah right now, and he was a powerful speaker. We did not have a single spokesperson this time, everyone just jumped in when they felt like it, and this seemed much more dynamic. The only area of agreement that we seemed to have with them was that our National Guard is overextended. They claimed there will be some troop withdrawal next spring.

There were a few further things I did on this date. I went to each and every US Senators office and dropped off a flyer that I had prepared. This flyer was on Ali Nasir Jabur, and it was an appeal to help this child who lost his whole family. You can read the original story about Ali at

http://dancewater.blogspot.com/2005/08/ali-nasir-jabur.html


My friend, Lena, went to a panel on torture, and she did not repeat to me what that was about, but she said it was horrible. This was a panel on torture being done by Americans around the world, and many victims spoke.

As I was walking the halls of the office buildings of the Senators, I met Max Cleland, a former Senator from Georgia. He once wrote me a letter that showed a great deal of heart, and that really touched me. So, I went up to him and thanked him, and told him what a great job I think he did while he was in the Senate. He kissed my hand, which was sweet.

Anyone can go lobby, and indeed, it is your responsibility as an American to get involved with your government and let them know what you think and feel - even if they do not agree.