NCADD ADVOCACY DAY CAROL MCDAID HOLLY STRAIN CAPITOL DECISIONS, INC. MARCH 28, 2017
AGENDA Why YOUR Advocacy is Important Washington Environment Advocacy Day Meeting Preparation & Talking Points Advocacy Day Schedule, Meetings, & Tips 2
Your Voice Makes a Difference Advocacy in Washington Influences the Governing Bodies As 6 Long As There Is Citizen Interest in the Political Congress and the White House create laws and regulations to govern citizens Landscape Citizens influence governing behavior by participating in advocacy efforts & Show Support Ask for Change Tell Stories Share Ideas Provide Information Source: National Journal Research, 2015.
CONGRESS HEARD YOU Repeal & replace bill w/o addiction benefit pulled from House floor CARA enacted in July 2016 21 st Century Cures bill enacted in December 2016 with $1 billion to address opioid misuse and overdose epidemic 1 st $500 million already appropriated for FY17; 2 nd half needs to be on FY 18 appropriations bills None of this would have been possible without YOUR advocacy YOU are establishing that those impacted by SUD are a constituency of consequence & action must happen 4
CARA & CURES GRANTS CURES State applications were due by end of Feb Awards announced in May CARA DOJ is now accepting applications for a new grant program that will provide additional resources for six categories of funding 5
STATE OF PLAY ON CAPITOL HILL: ACA REPEAL & REPLACE House leadership pulled repeal & replace (R&R) bill from House floor. Bill would have: Sunset Medicaid expansion & removed requirement that MH/SUD is covered for Medicaid Expansion beneficiaries in 2020 Struck mandatory MH/SUD coverage by leaving decisions to the states Next steps are unclear but additional R&R legislation/regulations are likely 6
ADVOCACY DAY MEETING PREPARATION & TALKING POINTS 7
HOW TO ORGANIZE A MEETING WITH A MEMBER OF CONGRESS/STAFF Designate a primary spokesperson Be brief with introductions; time is short Provide & collect business cards where possible Provide a brief explanation of NCADD s mission and history Spend the bulk of your time on key messages and requests If you don t know the answer to a question, tell the staffer NCADD government relations staff will follow up with them 12
YOUR MEETING WITH A MEMBER OF CONGRESS/STAFF Identify a primary spokesperson Know the legislator s party affiliation, committee assignments Tie NCADD s issues to lawmaker s community-based issues (i.e. recent overdose deaths, successful prevention campaigns) Make a request: legislators want to do something for their constituents. For example: Vote no, send a letter or cosponsor a bill Provide the legislator s staff the leave behind information AFTER you have concluded your discussion E-mail a thank-you note 13
OPEN YOUR MEETING: INTRODUCE YOURSELF & NCADD Thank you for taking time to meet with us today. We re here today on behalf of NCADD. I am a constituent in your District/State with X organization We have 2 key issues we want to discuss with you: Funding to address the opioid misuse and overdose epidemic Any repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act as it relates to addiction treatment coverage 14
THE REQUEST: FUNDING TO ADDRESS THE OPIOID MISUSE AND OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC We know you re familiar with the statistics more Americans are dying from overdoses than car accidents. In our state/community, [insert local story if possible] We are thankful for the actions Congress took last year with the passage of: The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA); CARA authorizes $181 million annually to prevent or reverse overdoses and expand access to treatment and vital recovery support services. The 21 st Century Cures Act; CURES included $1 billion over 2 years in funding to states to tackle the epidemic. The first $500 million has already been appropriated The request : We thank Congress for taking strides last year to address this epidemic, but the work is not done yet. We ask that you support full funding in the Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bills; we must ensure the prevention, treatment and recovery support services are there to fully address SUDs, including the OUD epidemic 15
THE REQUEST: ACA REPEAL & REPLACEMENT While the House did not pass the American Health Care Act, we remain concerned that additional legislation and/or regulations could come up to repeal key Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions. Repeal of the Essential Health Benefits (EHB), for example, would jeopardize the progress made by CARA and CURES by limiting access to treatment. The request : Please ensure any replacement of the ACA includes meaningful coverage for addiction treatment that complies with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act 17
CLOSE YOUR MEETING Invite the staffer/member of Congress/Senator to visit your organization Thank them for their time. (when the staffer closes their notebook, it s usually time to go) 18
ADVOCACY DAY SCHEDULE, MEETINGS & TIPS 19
ADVOCACY DAY: SCHEDULE 6:30am 7:45am Breakfast/orientation at Residence Inn 8:00am Bus Departs for Capitol Hill Everyone has been given a schedule of their meetings If you have extra time between meetings, places to grab coffee are on the map in your packet 12:30pm Bus departs Capitol Hill 20 BUS DROP OFF & PICK UP POINT
PREPARING FOR MEETINGS WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS/STAFF Advocates can leverage face-to-face meetings with Members of Congress and their staff to communicate their positions and build enduring relationships with their representatives. Keep the tips below in mind during your meeting: 1 2 3 4 5 XYZ ISSUE REPORT Be on time Arrive no more than 5 minutes before the meeting; Members/staff are rarely available to meet earlier and Hill offices are too small to accommodate lingering constituents Inform the staff if you are going to be late in case another meeting time must be arranged Be flexible Prepare to meet with either the Member or the Member s staff; treat both with equal respect If the Member arrives in the middle of your meeting, continue as usual; and the Member will ask questions if needed Stay on Topic Raise only the issue you scheduled to discuss with the Member and the Member s staff to keep the meeting focused and persuasive Keep Politics Out of It Do not discuss elections or campaign support in your meeting; it intimates that the Member is for sale Respect the Member s political views and relationships outside of the issue at hand Leave Behind Brief Information Leave behind a 1-2 page briefing with data points on the issue discussed with the Member s office; the document should serve as a helpful resource for staff as the issue moves through Congress 10 Source: Congressional Management Foundation and the Society for Human Resource Management, Face-to-Face with Congress: Before, During, and After Meetings with Legislators, 2014.
ADVOCACY DAY: MEETINGS Meetings with staff for your Senators & Members of Congress have been scheduled for each state by Capitol Decisions If there are multiple advocates from one state, you will meet with staff for your Senator together 1 person per/meeting should have a packet for the staff Professional government relations staff may accompany you on your meeting to help answer questions on your requests There will be a note on your schedule if someone is joining you Meet the other attendees at your meeting and/or the government relations professional staffer in the hallway outside of the office 10 minutes in advance of your meeting 21
ADVOCACY DAY: LOGISTICS & TIPS Leave behind materials for congressional visits distributed at breakfast Please complete a feedback/follow up form and drop it off with staff at the bus back to the hotel or e-mail to hstrain@capitoldecisions.com Leah will e-mail you a thank you note template Take a cab if you re tight on time between House/Senate meetings Capitol Hill offices, especially House offices, are small Don t be offended if you meet in the hallway Staff will be available to answer questions & provide assistance 22
THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOUSE SIDE Public, Handicapped Accessible Entrance Public Non-Handicapped Accessible Entrance THE HOUSE SIDE House Chamber Entrance Member/Staff-Only Until 10 AM N W E S First Street SE Independence Avenue Rayburn House Office Building Longworth House Office Building Cannon House Office Building S. Capitol Street SE Capitol South Metro Understanding Office Numbers Building Rayburn (RHOB) Longworth (LHOB) Cannon (CHOB) Numbering System All rooms are four digits; the first is always 2, the second indicates floor Example Rep. Kevin McCarthy s office, 2421 RHOB, is on the fourth floor of Rayburn All rooms are four digits; the first is always 1, the second indicates floor Rep. Paul Ryan s office, 1233 LHOB, is on the second floor of Longworth All rooms are three digits; the first indicates floor Rep. Nancy Pelosi s office, 233 CHOB, is on the second floor of Cannon 23 Sources: Bing Maps; National Journal Research, 2015. 32
THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE SENATE SIDE Public, Handicapped Accessible Entrance Public Non-Handicapped Accessible Entrance Entrance Member/Staff-Only Until 10 AM N W E S Russell Senate Office Building First Street NE Dirksen Senate Office Building Hart Senate Office Building Constitution Avenue Senate Chamber Understanding Office Numbers Building Russell (SR) Dirksen (SD) Hart (SH) Numbering System Example All rooms are three digits, the first digit indicating floor number and a prefix indicating office building Sen. Harry Reid s office, SH 522, is located on the fifth floor of the Hart building 24 Sources: Bing Maps; National Journal Research, 2015. 33
QUESTIONS?