Communicating with your elected officials: You don’t need luck

1. Communicating with your elected officials: You don’t need luck Presented by Zora AuBuchon, MDHE Will Shaffner, MOHELA Paul Wagner, MDHE

2. Today’s Agenda • General Do’s and Don’ts • Why communicate • Developing relationships • Tips for meetings • Missouri’s elected officials • The Congress of the United States

3. General Do’s and Don’ts

4. Why Communicate? • Issues faced by your institution • Issues faced within the financial aid profession • Student or borrower issues

5. Identifying Contacts • Identify members of Congress sitting on specific committees • Identify the elected official’s staff member(s) for higher education issues

7. Developing Relationships • Meet in person as often as possible • Periodically provide updates about your organization • News releases • Announcements • Frequency of contact • Do not overdo email messages Note: Staff turnover can be high; it is important to keep a continuous dialog going

8. Key Staff to Know • Administrative Assistant (Chief of Staff) • Legislative Director • Senior Legislative Assistant • Legislative Assistant • Executive Assistant (scheduler)

9. A First-Time Meeting • To schedule, contact the scheduler/executive assistant and provide: • The requested meeting date • Issues to be discussed • Who and how many will be attending • Constituents are more likely to obtain the meeting • The scheduler should follow up with you within five business days

10. Tips for Meetings • Be aware of whether the member sits on the committee with jurisdiction on your issue • Ask for the Legislative Director to join • If meeting with a junior staffer • Subtly test his/her knowledge of the issue • Educate the staffer • Staffers tend to be “jacks of all trades” • NOT specialists • Overworked and underpaid

11. More Tips for Meetings • Arrive on time • Avoid canceling at any cost! • Meetings should be 10-15 minutes MAX • Get to your point and stick to the issues • If you want the member to do something • Be clear about what you want the member to do • Be responsive to their requests for information! • Provide what is needed the same day • Follow up

12. Missouri’s Elected Officials

13. Legislators with an Interest in Higher Education • Constituents come first • Any legislator with a college or university will be interested • Legislators receive many calls from constituents having problems with financial aid, admissions, or other higher education issues

14. Legislators with an Interest in Higher Education • Members of committee to which a bill is assigned • Members of the House Higher Education and Senate Education Committee

15. Grassroots Campaigns

16. Missouri Senate • http://www.senate.mo.gov/

17. Missouri House of Representatives • http://www.house.mo.gov/

18. Staying Connected in Missouri

19. The Congress of the United States

20. Contacts: Missouri 111th Congress • Missouri’s U.S. Senators • Mr. Christopher (“Kit”) Bond • Ms. Claire McCaskill • Missouri’s Representatives

21. Correspondence to a Senator • Envelope: The Honorable (insert full name) United States Senate (Insert address) Washington, D.C. 20510 • Letter salutation: Dear Senator (insert last name)

22. Correspondence to a Representative • Envelope: The Honorable (insert full name) United States House of Representatives (Insert address) Washington, D.C. 20515 • Letter salutation: Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms.(insert last name)

23. House Committees • Committee on Education and Labor • George Miller (D-CA), Chair • Buck McKeon (R-CA), Ranking Member • Subcommittee on Higher Education • Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Chair • Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Ranking Member

24. House Committees • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary & Secondary Education • Dale Kildee (D-MI), Chair • Mike Castle (R-DE), Ranking Member

25. Senate Committee • Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions • Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Chair • Michael B. Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member

26. Questions or Comments? Thank you for attending.