Meet with your legislators in person

Communicating directly with your elected officials is an important way to make your voice heard. Whether your meeting takes place in your hometown or in Washington, D.C., here’s a step-by-step guide to ensure your visit goes smoothly.

Step 1: Identify your members of Congress

Each person in the U.S. is represented by one representative and two senators. You can find out who represents you on the House and Senate websites.

Step 2: Schedule a meeting

Members of Congress split their time between their home districts and Washington, D.C. They may be available to meet with constituents in either office, depending on whether Congress is in session. Contact information for each official is available online. You also can email the ASBMB public affairs staff to help set up a meeting.

Step 3: Do some research, practice and prepare for your meeting

Before you meet, make sure you’ve done your homework. Here are some general talking points about federal agency funding and other science-related pieces of legislation.

How does your state and district benefit from biomedical research? The ASBMB public affairs staff can provide stats about the benefits of research to your local community.

Also, review our tips for communicating with Congress.

Step 4: Attend the meeting

Put your research and preparation into practice, and then, as the meeting concludes, leave your member of Congress with some information about the importance of research. Here are some fliers you can print out:

• ASBMB tree graphic
  A pictorial representation of the wide-reaching effects of federal funding for the NIH and how budget cuts to science-funding agencies affect the nation.
• “Unlimited Potential, Vanishing Opportunity” summary
  A one-page summary of some of the important takeaways from the “Unlimited Potential, Vanishing Opportunity” report.
• Congress must support biomedical research
  A rundown of how discovery research can benefit human health.
• “Sparking Economic Growth” summary
  A summary “Sparking Economic Growth,” a document prepared by the Science Coalition, which identifies successful examples of companies that are the direct result of federal investments in basic research.

Contact the ASBMB public affairs staff for more leave-behind materials or advice on how best to use them.

Step 5: Follow up with the office

Write a note thanking the official and/or staff members for meeting with you.

Don’t have time to meet? Write or call

If you don’t have time to meet with your officials in person, contact them using email, a handwritten letter or the phone.