NATCA Bookshelf

18 M e e t i n g s N A T C A I N W A S H I N G T O N 2 0 2 4 N i W To d a y Congressional Visit Tips Know your member. Learn the member's political party, district, voting record, committee assignments and where his/her specialties lie. Be on time. It's generally good to arrive 10-15 minutes in advance if possible. Keep your presentation simple and lead with the most important points. Plan to have 15-20 minutes with the member. Be well prepared for your meeting with facts, figures, legislative history, and backup materials in case you need them, but resist the temptation to tell the member everything you know. Make your arguments but be aware of the pressures on legislators and their world of competing priorities. Relate to situations in his/her home state or district. If you are attending the meeting with others, make sure everyone in your group is prepared ahead of the meeting and understands the ground rules. Choose a spokesperson who is in charge of the discussion, makes sure all the points are covered, and who can lead any runaway conversations back to the point. It is important to have one person take the lead, but others should be ready to help in case they lose their train of thought or get stuck. If asked a question you don't know the answer to, it's completely acceptable to admit you don't know. Offer to try to find out the answer and send information back to the office. Thank members for positions they have taken that align with the issues NATCA supports. Meeting with a member whose position is against a NATCA issue is okay as well. View the time as an opportunity to lessen his/her opposition and perhaps change it. Dress comfortably. You may have to do a lot of walking. Remember you are representing your organization and dress accordingly. DO:

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