Advocacy Day 2006: 115 NAFSA Members Visit Capitol Hill

On March 29 and 30, 115 NAFSA members from 37 states and the District of Columbia participated in Advocacy Day, an annual event held to heighten awareness of international education issues on Capitol Hill.

Regional Competition, Year of Study Abroad, and State Whips Increase Turnout

The large turnout was thanks in part to a competition between regions for the highest percentage increase in participation. Congratulations and a complimentary registration for the 2007 event goes to Regions I and VI, both of whom had a 150 percent increase over their 2005 participation numbers. The largest delegations this year were from Virginia (9), California (8), and Georgia (8). Education abroad professionals received a special invitation to attend this year’s event, as the U.S. Senate has designated 2006 the Year of Study Abroad, presenting a unique opportunity to raise the visibility of study abroad on the national agenda. Also among those in attendance were 21 members of NAFSA’s State Whip Network, a volunteer network of NAFSA members who live in states with members of Congress who sit on key committees overseeing international education-related issues. Texas State Whip Adria Baker (Rice University) was presented with NAFSA’s first Advocate of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding service with regard to advocacy. Read more about Adria’s achievements.

Advocacy Training and Strategizing

The two-day event kicked off with an introductory briefing for newcomers that covered the fundamentals of effective advocacy and offered insight into the workings of a congressional office. A panel of Advocacy Day veterans—including Steve Ferst (Rutgers University, NJ), Bonnie Bissonette (Northcentral Technical College, WI), and Melinda Wood (University of Hawaii-West Oahu, HI)—regaled participants with stories of their most memorable Capitol Hill experiences to illustrate the procedure of congressional meetings.

Vic Johnson, NAFSA’s associate executive director for public policy, addressed the importance of understanding the “big picture” by thinking about international education issues in the context of NAFSA’s recently updated statement, An International Education Policy for U.S. Leadership, Competitiveness, and Security. The rest of the public policy staff then gave issue briefings and updated participants on the student visa provisions that were presently being debated in Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on immigration reform.

Hill Visits

Participants were asked to focus on a few specific requests, or “Asks”, during their Capitol Hill meetings, including asking their representatives to cosponsor H.Con.Res 100, the U.S. international education policy resolution introduced last March by Representatives Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) and Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), and asking their senators to cosponsor S. 455, the ACTION Act of 2005, sponsored by Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), and S.2198, the PACE-Education Act, introduced by Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). In addition, both senators and representatives were urged to support the creation of a robust Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Program.

NAFSA members met with congressional delegations in over 160 offices. While most participants met with congressional staff, several had the opportunity to meet with their senators and/or representatives. The event closed with an insightful debriefing session by a Hill insider on how members could develop fruitful, long-term relationships with their congressional offices. For continued guidance on how to engage in effective advocacy, please read NAFSA’s new Grassroots Advocacy Handbook.

Success

As the many energized participants can attest, this year’s event was highly successful and worthwhile as once again NAFSA made a strong case for the importance of international education to policymakers in Washington, D.C. Thus far, Advocacy Day meetings have already resulted in securing an additional six cosponsors for H.Con.Res. 100. As of April 7, Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), James Moran (D-Va.), Charles Pickering (R-Miss.), Vic Snyder (D-Ark.), Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), and Representative Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have signed on to the international education policy resolution. For future updates, please continue to check NAFSA.news, as this is the channel through which we routinely notify all members about progress on NAFSA’s advocacy agenda. Many thanks go out to all the NAFSA members who participated in this year’s event.

View event details.