In-District Congressional Meetings

One of the best ways you can influence congressional activity is to meet with your Congressman or their staffers. As a constituent of theirs, they serve you. Letting them know your opinion on legislative issues better informs them when they go to vote on your behalf.

Feedback from meetings ACG and our members have conducted has consistently shown that legislators are not fully aware of the positive impact ACG’s membership has on the economy, and the various ways federal legislation impacts middle market growth.

Getting Started

First, we recommend that you become familiar with ACG’s Public Policy Agenda. During your meeting, you will most likely provide an overview of your company and its role in the middle market economy, followed by focusing on policy issues of relevance to ACG’s membership.

We recommend you read ACG’s tax reform issue brief, as well as our regulatory reform issue brief.

Scheduling the Meeting

Check the U.S. House of Representative’s yearly calendar to ensure that your legislator will be in district, and not in Washington, D.C.

Next, use the following page to identify your legislator and call their office to get the information of their in district scheduler. Scroll all the way down to "Schedule an In-District Meeting with Your House Representative"

Send a formal request for a meeting to the scheduler, we recommend you base yours off of this template we have created. Be prepared to be flexible in regards to dates and times, and expect a 30-minute meeting. Make sure you are specific about which district office you would like to meet in.

One week after submitting the request form, follow up with the scheduler to confirm it was received. Congressional offices receive thousands of requests a year, so it make sure it hasn’t been overlooked.

Prepare for the Meeting

Let us know that you’ve scheduled a meeting! Please fill out this form with the meeting details.

Do your research on your legislator:

• How long have they been in office?
• Where were they born?
• Where do they stand on key issues?
• Are they on any pertinent committees?
• Read any ACG issue briefs.

Practice for the Meeting

Contact policy@acg.org and a member from our public policy team will be in touch to set up a call with you and other ACG members who will be in attendance at the meeting. During this call they will be able to walk you through what a typical meeting looks like, and answer any questions you may have.

Meet

Make sure to arrive early for your meeting. Business attire is suggested. Do not be surprised if the legislator’s schedule changes and they are unable to meet with you. Congressional staffers are great resources, and are often in charge of being very knowledgeable about issue areas, so legislators use them as a resource and so should you.

Questions?
If you have any questions as you plan your visit, please contact ACG’s policy team at policy@acg.org and someone will get back to you within 24 hours.