It will often be easier to contact members of Congress and their staff while they are in the home district or state, rather than making the trip to Washington, DC. One of the most powerful venues in which to have a meeting with your Member of Congress is through a site visit. This gives you the opportunity to educate the member and his/her staff on what happens in a research facility or an oncology practice. Personal stories and information are vital to making a lasting impression, and a site visit is a unique way to relay those stories and information. What follows are some guidelines on how to extend an invitation to your legislator, prepare your staff, and how to conduct the visit. This is intended to guide you through the process but if you have more detailed questions, please contact the Cancer Policy & Clinical Affairs Department at 571-483-1670 or grassroots@asco.org.
Extend an invitation. After you have determined which member or members of Congress you wish to invite, the first step is to send a formal letter of invitation to either their Washington, DC, or local district office. Every office is different, so start with the DC office, and they will inform you whether local appointments are handled by their main district office. Be sure to include in the letter the location and size of your facility/practice and identify the specific issues you would like to discuss. Once you have confirmation that the legislator has accepted your invitation, find out how much time you will have with the legislator, and whether any of his or her staff will be accompanying him or her. Legislators have busy and ever-changing schedules so you may have to be flexible about the time and date of the visit.
Prepare for the visit. Just seeing your facility/practice will ensure that the legislator never looks at cancer issues the same way again. Develop the two or three points that you wish to convey during the visit and think about how to best make those points. Send background material on those issues to the legislator’s office in advance of the visit. Prepare your staff to use formal salutations (“Representative X” or “Congressman/woman X”, “Senator Y”) with the legislator.
Convey your Key Messages
Focus on the two or three most important issues that affect your facility/practice and your patients or staff. ASCO staff is available for guidance on prioritizing issues and can provide background information as needed. Remember to make your explanations personal and demonstrate how a positive or negative result will affect your ability to deliver quality cancer care.
Introduce the members of your staff and explain what they do. If any staff member has specialized training, highlight that with the legislator and explain how that training is critical to delivering quality care.
Show the legislator the specialized equipment in your office and explain how that equipment is used and how it contributes to the development or delivery of chemotherapy.
Answer questions. If you don’t know an answer, offer to follow up with the district office. Offer ASCO as a resource for policy questions.
Follow up with a personal thank-you letter. It is important to send a personalized letter to the legislator thanking them for taking the time to visit, briefly restating your points and reemphasizing any promises that the legislator made during his or her visit. Volunteer yourself as a resource on issues related to cancer. Keep in touch with your legislator and his or her staff.
Let ASCO’s Cancer Policy & Clinical Affairs Department know how the visit goes. It is important to let ASCO know you have made contact with your legislator so we can follow-up with the legislator’s DC office, answer any remaining questions and continue to educate them on issues related to quality cancer care.
