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This is an in-depth guide to ensure a successful meeting with your member of Congress or their staff. Please remember that your message is important to them. They want to hear from you, their constituents. First, thank the member of Congress or staffer for meeting with you. n i w . n a t c a . n e t INTRODUCTIONS Introduce yourself as a constituent or a constituent representative if you are not from their home state or district. Include your position (e.g. controller/engineer/test pilot/drug abatement officer). Tell the members or staffers where you work and where you are from. Elected officials and their staffs are very interested in hearing directly from their constituents. This reminds them that you are not a professional lobbyist, but a constituent with concerns. THANK YOU It's important to acknowledge what the member has done for NATCA in the past. Before the meeting, check the Voter Guide on page 34 to see how the member voted on ending the furloughs (Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013), ending the government shutdown (Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014), and the amendment to eliminate official time (Gingrey Amendment to THUD Appropriations). Thank members for their support on all issues they voted with us. If they voted against our position on all of the issues, be polite and simply thank them for meeting with you. THE ASK An "ask" is the request we make to members of Congress. This year the "ask" to each member or staffer is: Please reach out (or have your boss reach out) to leadership and tell them that you support a solution to end sequestration before the impending September 30 deadline. STAY ON MESSAGE Have a clear message. Your main goal is to let members of Congress know that sequestration is devastating to the NAS, and ask them to contact their leadership to let them know they support a solution to end sequestration before the impending September 30 deadline. Let your elected official know how sequestration has affected your ability to do your job effectively. EDUCATE Remain focused on the main message during the course of the meeting. As in any conversation, other issues will arise. Treat these as opportunities to educate your elected officials and their staffs. You are aviation safety professionals and subject maer experts. EXPLAIN Elaborate on how sequestration is devastating to the NAS. Use specific examples as background. Below are a few examples that you can share: • FURLOUGHS In April 2013, sequestration forced the FAA to furlough employees, including air traffic controllers, for one week before Congress intervened by passing the NATCA-initiated bill, Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013. • FLIGHT DELAYS During the week of the sequestration furloughs (April 21-27, 2013), flight delays tripled when compared to delays in the same week in 2014. The passage of the Reducing Flight Delays Act allowed the FAA to move money from other budget accounts to Operations in order to resume paying its personnel and end the furloughs. • THREATENED TOWER CLOSURES Sequestration forced the FAA to consider closing towers in order to achieve the mandated spending cuts. Ultimately the FAA did not need to close the towers due to the Reducing Flight Delays Act, but may once again have to consider closing them in the future. • MAINTENENCE DELAYS Preventative maintenance delays mean that engineers and technicians must contend with a fix-on-fail policy, forcing them to wait until equipment breaks before replacing it. This creates an inherent safety concern and may also cause air traffic delays. • HIRING FREEZE FAA initiated a hiring freeze in March of 2013 that lasted through the end of the year. The FAA Academy was closed for most of 2013, meaning it was unable to supply air traffic facilities with new trainees. This hiring freeze worsened an already critical staffing situation. Your experience and real life examples of what you do every day on the job are important for this meeting. No maer where you end up in the conversation, try your best to transition back to our ASK, or back to one of the main messages. Use your best judgment. REPEAT OUR ASK Before you leave the office, it's important to repeat our ASK one final time. During the course of your meeting, you may have touched upon several other subjects in which the congressional office is interested. This is also the perfect time to hand the staffer your leave-behind materials and your contact information. CLOSE End the meeting by thanking the members or staffers for their time. This is a good opportunity to suggest that they tour the local ATC facilities in their districts. This will allow them to see firsthand the critical work our members do. While most members of Congress are frequent flyers, they may not be familiar with the "behind the scenes" operation that allows them to travel safely. MAY 18-20, 2015 FULL MEETING OUTLINE 15

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