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

Communicating with your elected officials:

You don’t need luck

Presented by

Zora AuBuchon, MDHE

Will Shaffner, MOHELA

Paul Wagner, MDHE

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

General Do’s and Don’ts

Why Communicate?

• Issues faced by your institution• Issues faced within the financial aid profession• Student or borrower issues

Identifying Contacts

• Identify members of Congress sitting on specific committees

• Identify the elected official’s staff member(s) for higher education issues

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

Key Staff to Know

• Administrative Assistant (Chief of Staff)

• Legislative Director

• Senior Legislative Assistant

• Legislative Assistant

• Executive Assistant (scheduler)

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

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

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

Missouri’s Elected Officials

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

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

Grassroots Campaigns

Missouri Senate

• http://www.senate.mo.gov/

Missouri House of Representatives

• http://www.house.mo.gov/

Staying Connected in Missouri

The Congress of the United States

Contacts: Missouri 111th Congress

• Missouri’s U.S. Senators– Mr. Christopher (“Kit”) Bond– Ms. Claire McCaskill

• Missouri’s Representatives

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)

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)

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

House Committees

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

Senate Committee

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

Questions or Comments?

Thank you for attending.