HOW YOU CAN HELP NRLC HELP UNBORN BABIES:
TIPS ON LOBBYING

Editor's note. As the interview with Professor Keith Cassidy on page 14 illustrates, the Pro-Life Movement is the quintessential grassroots social movement. Our effectiveness is a direct reflection of the active participation of members.

To succeed this year, more than ever we will need your help. The following is, if you will, a tip sheet for how you can help NRLC help unborn babies and the medically dependent elderly.

This article will briefly address (1) lobbying in person; (2) lobbying by letter; and (3) lobbying by telephone.

A one-sentence summary is that pro-lifers should be polite, persistent, and prepared.

Guidelines for a Visit with Your Federal Representative

At least annually, and more often if necessary, the local pro-life leadership should make a formal appointment with an incumbent representative, either in Washington or in his or her district office.

Following the guidelines below will enhance the effectiveness of your meetings.

* In preparing for a meeting, you can obtain background information, including a lawmaker's voting record, at the NRLC Web site at www.nrlc.org, or from the NRLC Federal Legislation Department at (202) 626-8820 or Legfederal@aol.com. Copies of bills, roll call votes, and other useful information are also available at congressional Web sites such as http://thomas.loc.gov, www.house.gov, and www.senate.gov.

* Always make a formal appointment. Be on time for the appointment.

* Those meeting with the congressman should be thoroughly familiar with his voting record on the life issues. It is important that the pro-life leaders prepare carefully for the meeting beforehand, deciding what points must be made and who will make them.

* Some lawmakers are masters at eating up appointment time by leading the conversation off into tangents. Politely get down to business as soon as possible.

* Be calm, reasonable, and respectful. Be politely firm. Threats or open antagonism are never helpful and often counterproductive; they can even turn an apathetic pro-abortion legislator into a committed pro-abortion activist.

* Be sure to make substantive arguments in support of the pro-life position. Provide the legislator with public poll results demonstrating widespread support for the pro-life position as well.

* Give the congressman reliable printed materials to support the pro-life position, but don't overdo it. The more material you leave, the less likely it is that any of it will be read by the congressman or his staff.

* If the congressman or his staff asks you a question that you don't know the answer to, don't guess. If you give a congressman or his aide misinformation, it can erode your credibility and that of other pro-life lobbyists. Tell him you'll provide that information later - - and do so.

* Many legislators like to keep their options open. Don't mistake vague expressions of sympathy for real commitments. Politely press for specific commitments, with questions such as, "Will you vote for this measure?" You will not always obtain a firm answer, but you should try.

* Don't ignore the congressman's staff. Legislators are extremely busy people. They necessarily depend heavily on their staff members, who can strongly affect a vote on a specific pro-life issue through "filtering" the information he receives and through direct advice. Record the names and e-mail addresses of staff persons who sit in on your meeting with the congressman, and keep in touch with them afterwards if possible.

* As soon as possible after the meeting, write up a summary of what was said. Keep one copy in your confidential local files and forward one copy to the NRLC Federal Legislation Department, 512 10th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20004; fax: (202) 347-3668; e-mail: Legfederal@aol.com.

Lobbying by Letter

Effective letter-writing campaigns (including e-mail and faxes) are essential to successful pro-life legislative efforts in Congress and in your state legislature.

* Be Timely. Letters, faxes, and e-mails have the greatest impact if they are received before a legislator has committed himself on an issue.

* Write about Current Priority Legislation. While at any given time there may be dozens of life-related bills and amendments which have been introduced in Congress, only a relatively few will actually come to a vote during any given year. All legislation pertinent to right-to-life issues is monitored by the National Right to Life Federal Legislation Department, but legislative alerts are distributed nationwide only when letters on a specific issue are really necessary. Local pro-life leaders and grassroots pro-lifers should regard such alerts as a priority and act on them immediately. Legislative alerts should be given as wide a distribution as possible, as quickly as possible. If you write a letter in the name of an organization, be sure that the opinions you express reflect official policy of the organization. If your organization is an NRLC affiliate, the letter should also conform to NRLC policy. You may not, for example, advocate other issues or unlawful activities if you are an NRLC affiliate."

* Use the NRLC Legislative Action Center. Increasingly, congressional offices prefer to receive e-mail and faxes because of security concerns relating to U.S. mail. U.S. mail can still be used, but on time-sensitive legislative matters, e-mail and faxes are usually preferable.

The easiest way to send e-mail to congressional offices is to use the Legislative Action Center at the NRLC Web site. (The NRLC home page is at www.nrlc.org, and the Legislative Action Center is at http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/home/)

The Legislative Action Center contains already-prepared e-mail messages on current pro-life issues, which you can modify however you like. You will also find easy-to-access information on which bills your representatives have sponsored and how they have voted on key pro-life issues.

If you send e-mail to a congressional office by some method other than using the Legislative Action Center, be sure to include your regular street mailing address. Otherwise, your e-mail will not be counted as constituent mail, since there is no way to tell what state or district it came from.

If you prefer to send a fax, you also will find the fax numbers for most congressional offices in the information available at the Legislative Action Center.

* Be Concise. Generally, your letter should be short and to the point. Avoid discussing two unrelated issues in one letter or e-mail. Where appropriate, refer to the representative's previous votes on the same or similar issues. You might also add references to your own observations and experiences, and to any special expertise which you may have on a specific subject. Where appropriate, discuss the effect which a measure would have in the legislator's own district. Do not send the representative a copy of the Legislative Alert which you received.

* Be Respectful. State your views in a firm but courteous tone. Abusive or threatening language will not convert an unsympathetic legislator, but may motivate him to work against pro-life interests. Offensive letters may also anger legislators who previously were undecided or sympathetic.

* Follow Through. Expect a response to your letter. If the response is not satisfactory, write again, referring to the earlier correspondence and asking specific questions (e.g., "Will you vote for the pro-life amendment?").

* Pay Attention to Your Representative's Votes. Roll call votes on important pro-life issues usually are posted within days in the congressional scorecards at the Legislative Action Center which can be reached through www.nrlc.org or directly at http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/home/ In addition, they are published in NRL News soon after they occur. Pay close attention to how your U.S. representative and senators vote. When Members of Congress vote the wrong way, send letters or e-mails admonishing them. When Members of Congress vote pro-life, write to thank them. Too often, consistently pro-life legislators are taken for granted by pro-lifers, and so they receive mostly pro-abortion mail.

The addresses for sending U.S. mail to members of Congress are:

For U.S. Senators:

Senator ________________
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

For U.S. House Members:

The Honorable ___________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Lobbying by Telephone

Often a large volume of phone calls to a legislator's office on one side of a pending issue can influence the legislator's vote.

* "Telephone tree" campaigns should be directed to both the lawmaker's in-district office(s) and to his or her Washington office. It is a good idea to ask for a written response explaining how the congressman voted on the issue that is the subject of the call.

* You can reach the Washington office of any member of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard and asking for your House member or senator by name. If you are unsure who your representative is, just give the operator your zip code. You can also learn who represents you in the U.S. House and Senate by going to the NRLC Web site at www.nrlc.org and entering your zip code in the box labeled "Write to Congress."

Capitol Switchboard
(202) 224-3121

You can greatly assist NRLC's lobbying efforts by sending a copy of any response that you receive from a member of Congress, and any newspaper article that mentions your House member or senators in relation to a pro-life issue, to:

National Right to Life Committee
Federal Legislation Department
512 10th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
Fax: (202) 347-3668
E-mail: Legfederal@aol.com