MEET WITH YOUR SENATOR

Now is our chance to make our voice heard to legislators on strengthening the climate bill. Contact our Climate Campaign Coordinator Rose Braz at rbraz@biologicaldiversity.org or (415) 436-9682, ext. 319, and let her know you want to help. She'll give you talking points and details on how to meet with your senator's staff and urge the passage of the bill we need to avoid catastrophic global warming.

Then check out these tips for meeting with your senator:

Make an appointment and try to meet with your representative rather than a staff person.  Call your senator’s district office and ask to speak with the scheduler. Identify yourself and your organization, if any, as being in the district and representing a specific number of the senator’s constituents. Let the office know you want to discuss the climate change bill now in the Senate, particularly to urge your senator to save the Clean Air Act.  Make it clear how many people will attend the meeting. We can help you identify your senator.

Prepare for the meeting and decide who will say what. You can use our talking points, and you may want to prepare a short statement about how the bill affects you and your organization. If you're representing an organization, make sure you know the number and location of members. If possible, learn about your senator’s position on the issues before the meeting takes place. You can download helpful documents including our fact sheet, our briefing paper, a recent New York Times editorial, and the Center report No Reason to Wait and leave all these materials for your representative. 

Arrive on time. If you're going to be more than a few minutes late, call the senator's staff and let them know.

Expect a meeting that’s "short and sweet."  Fifteen minutes is a normal duration of a meeting with senators and/or staff. That means that you’ll need to keep your message short and simple. Use the talking points from Rose Braz to guide you.

Try to anticipate questions. Anticipate your senator’s concerns or questions and be ready to answer some of them. We think the materials provided will help you answer most questions, but if you can’t answer a question, let your senator know you'll get back to her or him with an answer. Be sure to follow up after the meeting with the information.

Don’t be intimidated. Meeting your senator can sometimes be intimidating. Try not to let it. It's important for your senator to know what you think. Remember, he or she represents you.

Thank the senator. Send a follow-up letter thanking your senator for his or her time. Include any other materials you think may be helpful, as well as any information that was requested. Make sure to ask to be kept informed about your senator's position on the bill.

Let us know how it went.  We want to know how it went. Did your representative let you know how they stood on the issues you raised?  Did she or he need more information?  Was your senator receptive to your points? Don't forget to email or call our Climate Campaign Coordinator Rose Braz to tell us about what happened at rbraz@biologicaldiversity.org or (415) 436.9682, ext. 319.