Advocacy Tip of the Month, December 2006

Get to Know Your Members of Congress

The mid-term elections are now behind us and the new 110th Congress will take office in January 2007. In order to be an effective advocate in the new year, it is important to research your members of Congress and where they stand on issues related to international education and exchange.

The easiest way to learn about your two Senators and Representative is to visit their web sites, where you’ll find their biographies, photos, press releases, and briefs on the issues they feel most strongly about. In addition to learning about your members, it is important that you know who on their staff is assigned to international education issues. Depending on the office, international education issues may be handled by the foreign relations, education, or immigration legislative assistant. By developing a relationship with the appropriate staff member and using each letter-writing opportunity to highlight the impact our issues have on their constituents, you are more likely to be influential. The goal is to be regarded as a reliable resource and expert on behalf of international education.

Action Steps for December:

1. If you don’t already know, find out who your members of Congress are by entering your zip code in the congressional search field in the Take Action Center. If your member(s) was recently voted into office, you can visit their campaign website to learn more about them.
   
   
2. View the bills NAFSA advocated on during the 109th Congress and see where your members stood on these issues. Please note that these bills, if not passed, will expire at the end of this Congress and have to be reintroduced next year.
   
   
3. Spread the word about ACT. Forward the following to 5 of your colleagues and students who would be interested in promoting federal support for international education.

   Make a difference for international education
   Join the Advocacy Centered Team (ACT)
   ACT is a team of advocates who communicate with their elected officials about important international education issues. By participating in ACT, you will receive advocacy opportunities in your e-mail about legislation that affects international education and exchange. To access more information on ACT and to join now, visit http://www.nafsa.org/actdescription.

Visit our new Tip of the Month Digest to view previous issues.
The Advocacy Tip of the Month is meant to help further your knowledge of grassroots advocacy while offering tips to effectively engage your elected officials. Each month, we will give you information on the tip with action steps to take relating to that month’s tip. This information is distributed to all registered users of ACT and posted in NAFSA.news.