Below is our most current action alert for individuals. By taking
action, you'll help to deliver our message to key members of Congress.
You can find older alerts on our Web site under "Action Alerts."
2010.2 August Recess Action Alert: Your Help Needed on Three "Must-Pass" Bills
BACKGROUND
With Congress in recess until September 10, we need your help to get
Hill support for three “must-pass” bills that protect government
whistleblowers and promote improved access to government information.
By taking just a few minutes to call or email your Senators and House
Representative using the talking points below, you’ll deliver our
message and make a difference before the 111th Congress adjourns at the
end of the year. Thanks in advance for your help!
1. Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (S. 372)
The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act
would ensure new meaningful protections for government employees and
contractors who blow the whistle on waste, fraud or abuse. President
Obama has expressed strong support for this bill, and we’re very close
to getting it passed after ten long years.
Status: On July 29, 2009, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
voted by unanimous consent to order the bill to be reported favorably
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The bill as reported
includes several necessary protections, such as access to jury trials
in federal district court.
Action Needed: Ask your Senators to urge Majority
Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to schedule a
Senate vote on S. 372 when Congress returns in September.
Talking Points:
- S. 372 is needed to ensure meaningful protections for
government whistleblowers who take personal and professional risks to
protect the public against waste, fraud and abuse.
- The bill would close several loopholes in the current
laws that have gutted available protections since the passage of
the Whistleblower Protection Act in 1989.
- Crucially, the bill would provide access to jury trials and
specific authority for whistleblowers to disclose classified
information to members of Congress on relevant oversight
committees, or their staff.
For more information on AALL’s efforts to ensure whistleblower protections, please read our Issue Brief.
2. Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (H.R. 6026)
This recently introduced bill directs the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to create a free searchable Web site to provide public
access to congressionally mandated reports, a category of important
resources that are rarely made available to the public. Director of
Government Relations Mary Alice Baish is working with the staff of Rep.
Steve Driehaus
(D-OH-1), the sponsor of the bill, on a few constructive changes.
Status: Rep. Driehaus introduced H.R. 6026 on July 30, 2010 and it was referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Action Needed:
- If your Representative is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, urge him or her to co-sponsor the bill and support it when it comes before the committee in September.
- If your Representative is not on the committee, urge him or her
to co-sponsor H.R. 6026 and vote in favor of it when it reaches the
House floor.
- If your Representative co-sponsored the bill, please be sure to say thank you. H.R. 6026 is co-sponsored by:
Talking Points:
- H.R. 6026 would, for the first time ever, make
congressionally mandated reports easily available to the public. It
requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to create a
centralized, free searchable database.
- The bill also requires Federal agencies to submit reports to OMB
for posting within 30 days of submitting the reports to Congress.
- The bill mandates that any report that is issued to Congress and
is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act be posted in the
database.
3. H.R.6086 and S. 3717 to repeal a FOIA exemption for the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L.
111-203) which included a provision exempting certain data produced by
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). In early August, AALL joined more than 30 open
government groups on letters to the Senate and the House urging Congress to repeal the new exemption.
Action Needed:
- Urge your House Representatives and Senators to co-sponsor H.R.6086 and S. 3717 to repeal the recently enacted new FOIA exemption for the SEC.
- If your elected official co-sponsored either bill, thank him or her:
Talking Points:
- H.R.6086 and S. 3717 are necessary to repeal a recently enacted new exemption from FOIA for the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- These bills would strike that exemption and make clear that records of financial institutions are already protected by FOIA Exemption 8.
- In the aftermath of the financial crisis, it is more important
than ever that Congress ensures that the public can access critical
information related to the oversight activities of the SEC.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAMPLE MESSAGES
Please personalize your message by explaining why these bills
are important to you. If your member is one of the co-sponsors of the
bills, please thank him/her for supporting it.
Also, please take a quick look at our list of Representatives and Senators
to see if your elected official has a JD. If so, please personalize
your message by mentioning the law school he/she attended or any other
connection you might have to him/her.
To your House Representative:
Dear Representative [Last Name]:
I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor two important bills that would
ensure greater public access and accountability: H.R. 6026, which
would require the Office of Management and Budget to create a free
searchable Web site to provide public access to Congressionally
mandated reports; and H.R.6086, which would repeal the recently enacted
and unnecessary Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption for the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
As a law librarian, I strongly support H.R. 6026, the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act,
which would make reports mandated by Congress easily available to the
public for the first time ever. I believe it is absolutely vital that
researchers, historians and members of the public have access to these
important reports.
I also strongly support H.R. 6086, which would repeal a provision in the recently enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
that shields the SEC from FOIA. In the aftermath of the financial
crisis, it is more important than ever that the public has access to
critical information related to the oversight activities of the SEC.
I urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 6026 and H.R.6086 and to vote in favor
of these bills when they reach the House floor. Thank you for your
consideration.
Sincerely,
[Add your name here]
To your Senators:
Dear Senator [Last Name]:
I am writing to ask you to support two bills to protect government
whistleblowers and increase access to government information: S. 372,
which would ensure meaningful protections for government
whistleblowers; and S. 3717, which would repeal the recently enacted
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption for the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC).
Please urge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell to act quickly to schedule a floor vote on S.
372, Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. S. 372 would add
much-needed protections for whistleblowers, such as access to jury
trials, and close loopholes in the current laws that have gutted
available protections.
In addition, I urge you to co-sponsor S. 3717 to repeal a provision of the recently-passed Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that
shields certain data produced by the SEC from FOIA. In the aftermath
of the financial crisis, it is more important than ever that the public
has access to critical information related to the oversight activities
of the SEC.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
[Add your name here]
2010.1 Call your Senators and urge them to vote NO on Coburn Amendment No. 4331
On Thursday June 17, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) offered a package of amendments to the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010
which, according to him, would pay for implementing all the provisions
of the bill. One of the amendments would drastically cut funding for
executive branch publishing and printing. In introducing this
particular amendment, Coburn stated that it would reduce the costs of
government documents by $4.4 billion over 10 years. He went on to say
that “Nobody reads these. They are all available online.”
While AALL embraces the move to broader public access to government
information through the Internet, we also recognize the reality—that
even today, much of the agency information we need is not available
online. In addition, recent studies demonstrate that many segments of
our citizenry still lack access to computers and/or broadband.
The Coburn amendment reducing executive branch publishing would have
a negative impact on the cost effective printing and binding services
procured competitively by the Government Printing Office from thousands
of small business printers throughout the country. It would also
impact the distribution of important print titles through the Federal
Depository Library Program.
Sen. Coburn’s amendment could effectively eliminate the publication
of almost every print title currently being produced by federal
agencies and departments. Among its many ill-conceived mandates is one
would tediously require every publishing entity to list at the beginning
of each publication distributed to the public: the name of the
publishing agency; the total number of copies printed; the collective
cost of producing and printing all of the copies; and the name of the
publishing entity.
Sen. Coburn simply fails to understand the printing process and the
importance of printing and distributing important publications for use
by the American public through the FDLP.
Immediate Action Needed:
Time is of the essence because the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 may be voted on as early as tomorrow. Please call your Senators today through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and urge them to vote NO on Coburn Amendment No. 4331 related to executive branch printing and publishing.
Thank you,
Mary Alice Baish
AALL Director of Government Relations
202-942-4237
mbaish@aall.org
2009.4 Ask Your House Rep. to Vote for PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Bill, H.R. 3845
November 16, 2009
BACKGROUND
On December 31, 2009, three provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-177) are scheduled to expire: Section 206 (roving wiretaps), Section 215, and the lone wolf provision.
AALL strongly supports legislation introduced by House Judiciary
Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI-14), Rep. Jerrold Nadler
(D-NY-8) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-3), the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009 (H.R. 3845),
which would raise the standard for Section 215 orders to protect the
private information of library users and tighten the standards for
issuing National Security Letters. The House Judiciary Committee reported H.R. 3845 favorably, as amended, on November 5, 2009.
Please email your House representative to ask him or her to vote for the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009 (H.R. 3845) when it reaches the House floor.
This Alert includes our specific “asks” and a sample message so that
you can easily make contact with your representative. Thank you for
speaking out on this important issue and please let us know the response you receive from your representative’s office.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED
Message to all House representatives:
- Ask him/her to vote in favor of H.R. 3845, the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009, when it reaches the House floor.
- The bill would protect the privacy of library users by raising
the standard for Section 215 orders and amending the National Security
Letter statute to ensure that the government obtains records only of
people believed to be terrorists or spies.
- Explain why preserving the privacy rights and civil liberties of library users and all Americans is important to you.
Message to the following members of the House Judiciary Committee who voted in support of the H.R. 3845 when it was favorably reported out of committee:
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8)
Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC-12)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16)
Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA-10)
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-9)
Rep. Henry Johnson (D-GA-4)
Pedro Pierluisi (New Progressive Party-PR)
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL-5)
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA-32)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL-4)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI-2)
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY-9)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA-29)
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-CA-20)
Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY-25)
- Thank him/her for supporting H.R. 3845, the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009.
- Explain why preserving the privacy rights and civil liberties of library users and all Americans is important to you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sample Message to all House representatives:
Please personalize your message by explaining why protecting the
privacy and civil liberties of library patrons is important to you. If
your member is one of the ten co-sponsors of H.R. 3845, or if he or she voted to report the bill favorably out of committee, please thank him/her for supporting the bill.
Also, please take a look at our list of representatives
to determine if your representative has a JD. If so, please
personalize your message by mentioning the law school he/she attended
or any other connection you might have to him/her.
Dear Representative [last name]
I am writing to ask you to support H.R. 3845, the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009,
when it reaches the House floor. As a law librarian, I support H.R.
3845 because it would raise the standard for Section 215 orders, the
so-called “library provision” of the USA PATRIOT Act, to
protect the privacy of library patrons. Importantly, the bill would also
amend the National Security Letter statute to ensure that the
government obtains financial, communication and credit records only of
people believed to be terrorists or spies.
As a law librarian, I understand the vital importance of having a
strong law that balances the needs of law enforcement with safeguards
for our civil liberties. I urge you to vote for H.R. 3845, the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009, when it reaches the House floor.
Thank you for your consideration.
2009.3 Ask Your House Rep. to Co-Sponsor PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Bill, H.R. 3845
November 3, 2009
BACKGROUND
On December 31, 2009, three provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-177) are scheduled to expire: Section 206 (roving wiretaps), Section 215, and the lone wolf provision.
AALL strongly supports a bill introduced by House Judiciary
Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI-14), Rep. Jerrold Nadler
(D-NY-8) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-3), the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009 (H.R. 3845),
which would raise the standard for Section 215 orders to protect
private information of library users and restore the pre-PATRIOT Act
standard for National Security Letters. On Wednesday, November 4, 2009, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a mark up to consider the bill.
Please email
or call your House representative, through the U.S. Capitol
Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or their district office, to ask him or her
to co-sponsor the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009 (H.R. 3845).
This Alert includes our specific “asks” and sample messages so that
you can easily make contact with your representative. Thank you for
speaking out on this important issue and please let us know the response you receive from your representative’s office.
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED
Message to the following House co-sponsors of the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009:
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8)
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-3)
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-9)
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA-36)
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA-15)
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18)
Rep. Henry Johnson (D-GA-4)
- Thank him/her for co-sponsoring H.R. 3845, the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009,
which would protect the privacy of library users by raising the
standard for Section 215 and amending the National Security Letter
statute.
- Explain why preserving the privacy rights and civil liberties of library users and all Americans is important to you.
Message to all House representatives who are NOT already co-sponsors of H.R. 3845:
- Ask him/her to co-sponsor H.R. 3845, the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009, which
would protect the privacy of library users by raising the standard for
Section 215 and amending the National Security Letter statute.
- Explain why preserving the privacy rights and civil liberties of library users and all Americans is important to you.
Sample Message to co-sponsors of the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009:
Please personalize your message by explaining why protecting the
privacy and civil liberties of library patrons is important to you.
Take a look at our list of representatives
to determine if your representative has a JD and if so, please
personalize your message by mentioning the law school he/she attended
or any other connection you might have to him/her.
I am [writing/calling] to thank Representative [name] for co-sponsoring H.R. 3845, the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009.
As a law librarian, I support H.R. 3845 because it would raise the
standard for Section 215 orders, the so-called “library provision” of
the USA PATRIOT Act, to protect the privacy of library
patrons. Importantly, the bill would also amend the National Security
Letter statute to ensure that the government obtains financial,
communication and credit records only of people believed to be
terrorists or spies.
As a law librarian, I understand the vital importance of having a
strong law that balances the needs of law enforcement with safeguards
for our civil liberties. Thank you for co-sponsoring this important
piece of legislation.
Sample Message to House representatives who are NOT co-sponsors of the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009:
Please personalize your message by explaining why protecting the
privacy and civil liberties of library patrons is important to you.
Take a look at our list of representatives
to determine if your representative has a JD and if so, please
personalize your message by mentioning the law school he/she attended
or any other connection you might have to him/her.
I am [writing/calling] to ask that Representative [name] sign on to co-sponsor H.R. 3845, the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009.
As a law librarian, I support H.R. 3845 because it would raise the
standard for Section 215 orders, the so-called “library provision” of
the USA PATRIOT Act, to protect the privacy of library
patrons. Importantly, the bill would also amend the National Security
Letter statute to ensure that the government obtains financial,
communication and credit records only of people believed to be
terrorists or spies.
As a law librarian, I understand the vital importance of having a
strong law that balances the needs of law enforcement with safeguards
for our civil liberties. I urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 3845, the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009.
Thank you for your consideration.
2009.2 Your Help Needed to Get Free Online Access to CRS Reports
October 16, 2009
AALL believes that the public has a right to free online access to
tax-payer funded Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports. We are
very pleased that there is legislation pending in the Senate (S. Res. 118) and House (H.R. 3762)
to meet this goal. Very importantly, both bills would also require
that an index of reports and issue briefs be made publicly available.
In April, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ),
and five additional co-sponsors introduced S. Res. 118 to make CRS
reports freely available on the Internet. In a May 11, 2009 editorial, the New York Times reported
that Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Chair of the Rules and
Administration Committee, was “working on a plan” that would make CRS
reports publicly available, but Chairman Schumer has not yet announced
the plan. We need your help to put pressure on Sen. Schumer to bring S.
Res. 118 before the committee this year.
On the House side, Representatives Frank Kratovil (D-MD-1) and Leonard Lance (R-NJ-7) introduced the Congressional Research Service Electronic Accessibility Act of 2009 (H.R. 3762)
on October 8. This bill would provide the public with free online
access to CRS reports through House and Senate Web sites. We need your
help in getting additional co-sponsors for their bill.
This Alert includes our specific asks, links to the Webmail forms of
your members of Congress, and sample emails so that you can easily make
contact with your senators and representatives. Thanks for your help
and please let us know when you take action!
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED IN THE SENATE
Message to the following Senate co-sponsors of S. Res. 118:
Original Sponsor:
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (ID-CT)
Co-Sponsors:
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-WI)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT)
Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-IN)
• Thank him/her for supporting this important resolution, which would provide the public with free online access to CRS reports.
• Ask him/her to contact Rules and Administration Chairman Charles
Schumer to request that he explain his plan for providing the public
with no-fee access to CRS reports and bring S. Res 118 before the
Committee as soon as possible.
Message to the following senators who are on the Committee on Rules and Administration:
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Chair
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT)
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. E. Benjamin Nelson (D-NE)
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM)
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT), Ranking Member
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Sen. C. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS)
• Ask him/her to co-sponsor S. Res. 118.
• Ask him/her to urge Chairman Schumer to take up S. Res. 118 in the Rules Committee.
Message to every other senator:
• Ask him/her to co-sponsor S. Res. 118.
• Ask him/her to contact Rules and Administration Chairman Charles
Schumer to request that he explain his plan for providing the public
with no-fee access to CRS reports. Ask him/her to urge Chairman Schumer
to bring S. Res. 118 before the Rules Committee as soon as possible.
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED IN THE HOUSE
Message to Representatives Frank Kratovil (D-MD-1) and Leonard Lance (R-NJ-7):
• Thank them for introducing H.R. 3762 to provide the public with no-fee online access to CRS reports.
Message to the following representatives who are on the Committee on House Administration:
Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA-1), Chair
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), Vice-Chair
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA-8)
Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL-7)
Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA-53)
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-TX-20)
Rep. Daniel Lungren (R-CA-3), Ranking Member
Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS-3)
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-22)
• Ask him/her to support H.R. 3762, the Congressional Research
Service Electronic Accessibility Act of 2009 and hold a hearing on the
bill.
Message to every other House representative:
• Ask him/her to co-sponsor H.R. 3762.
Sample Message to Senators:
Please personalize your message by explaining why public access to
CRS reports is important to you. Take a look at our list of senators to
determine if your senator has a JD. If so, you can personalize your
message by mentioning the law school he/she attended or any other
connection you might have to him/her.
Dear Senator [last name]:
As a law librarian at [name of law library], I frequently use
Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports to help my
[students/faculty/patrons] conduct legal research. These well-written,
tax-payer funded reports are invaluable to legal researchers. I believe
that the public has a right to access these reports, which are currently
only available for free to the public if a constituent requests a
specific report. I urge you to co-sponsor Sen. Res. 118, which would
provide the public with free access to CRS reports through the Internet.
A May 11, 2009 editorial in the New York Times stated that Rules and
Administration Committee Chairman Charles Schumer was working on a plan
to provide the public with no-fee access to CRS reports. Please contact
Chairman Schumer to request that he explain his plan, and urge him to
take immediate action on S. Res. 118 in the Rules Committee.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Sample Message to House Representatives:
Please personalize your message by explaining why public access to
CRS reports is important to you. Take a look at our list of House
representatives to determine if your representative has a JD. If so, you
can personalize your message by mentioning the law school he/she
attended or any other connection you might have to him/her.
Dear Representative [last name]:
As a law librarian at [name of law library], I frequently use
Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports to help my
[students/faculty/patrons] conduct legal research. These well-written,
tax-payer funded reports are invaluable to legal researchers. I believe
that the public has a right to access these reports, which are currently
only available for free to the public if a constituent requests a
specific report.
I urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 3762, the Congressional Research
Service Electronic Accessibility Act of 2009, which would provide the
public with free access to CRS reports through the Internet. Thank you
for your consideration.
Sincerely,
[your name]
2009.1 Welcome Your Newly Elected Members of Congress
WELCOME YOUR NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
With the start of the 111th Congress, more than 60 newly elected
Senators and Representatives joined returning members of Congress on
Capitol Hill. If you have a new member of Congress, it is especially
important that you take some time to educate him or her about our
issues. New members often come to D.C. with a blank slate, and they're
looking for issues to champion. Below, we've provided some tips for
making contact with your new representative so that you can begin to
form the important relationships that will allow you to become a
successful advocate.
The New Members of the 111th Congress
The Senate welcomed eleven new members in January. The new members are:
Mark Begich (D-AK)
Mark Udall (D-CO)
Jim Risch (R-ID)
Roland Burris (D-IL)
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Tom Udall (D-NM)
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY)
Kay Hagan (D-NC)
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Mark Warner (D-VA)
The close Minnesota election between Al Franken (D) and incumbent
Senator Norm Coleman (R) is still undecided at the time of this
writing.
Information about your Senators, including contact information and
links to their new Web sites, is located on the Senate Web site here.
In the House, more than 50 new members were elected to office. The
Committee on House Administration has provided helpful information
about them in the New Member Pictorial Directory. A list of Representatives with links to their Web sites is located on the House Web site here.
Get to Know Your New Member of Congress.
Has your new representative been in public office before? Does he or
she have a J.D.? What issues are important to him or her? Take a look
at his or her Web site, campaign site, and articles in the news to
collect some background information.
Talking Points
With the knowledge you’ve collected about your representative,
you’re ready to make contact. Write an email or letter, or better yet,
call the district office to set up a face-to-face meeting with local
staff. Or, invite them to your library to show your new member how
important law libraries are to the community.
Here are some details you may want to include in your first communication:
- Introduce yourself as a constituent and member of the American Association of Law Libraries and your chapter (if applicable).
- Congratulate your new member on his or her election victory.
- Describe your law library and what makes it important to your
community. Who are the library users? How does the community benefit
from your services?
While we normally recommend that you stick to one issue in your
letter, this case is unique because you are establishing an initial
communication with a new member. In Section 3.2,
you'll find a list of the bills AALL supports. You may want to ask
your member of Congress to support or co-sponsor one of these bills.
Alternately, you can ask your lawmaker to support one or all of the
upcoming issues that we predict will be of importance to law libraries
in the coming year. These issues include:
- Improved funding for the Law Library of Congress.
Ask your member to support legislation to provide additional
funding for the Law Library of Congress, our Nation's de facto national
law library.
- Adequate funding for the Government Printing Office and the Federal Depository Library Program.
Ask your member to show his or her support for public access to
government Information by supporting the appropriations request of the
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO).
- Enactment of net neutrality legislation.
By supporting net neutrality legislation, your legislator can
demonstrate his or her commitment to ensuring that that all Internet
traffic is treated equally. The issue of net neutrality is very
important for law libraries because law librarians are providers,
creators and users of digital information.
In closing, thank your legislator and reiterate that you look
forward to working with him or her during the 111th Congress. Be sure
to include your contact information so that your lawmaker’s staff can
follow up. This initial contact will be the basis for developing a
successful relationship with your lawmaker which will allow you to
become an effective advocate for law libraries in the future.