Congressional Visits
Congressional Visits
Join advocates across the U.S. in a nationwide effort to address the Administration’s decision to terminate active foreign assistance programs that target the most vulnerable. Members of Congress will be working from their home states or districts soon for Spring Recess. This is your moment to meet with them and share how this decision impacts our sisters and brothers around the world and in the United States.
Click on the blue dropdown bar in each section to view additional information.
Registration
CRS partners are organizing visits now. If you’re interested in participating, please register as soon as possible so we can connect you with the right people and so you can also receive important communications and resources to support your meetings. View the registration form in Spanish.
* Please only fill out the registration form if you are 18 years of age or older. If you are a CRS High School Club member participating in visits, your CRS Club Advisor must fill out the form on behalf of your club.
Legislation
State of Play
On January 20, the new Administration issued an executive order pausing foreign aid programs for 90 days while they reviewed and aligned them with the foreign policy goals of making the U.S. safer, strong and more prosperous. By February 27, the Administration completed their review of all foreign aid programs and initiated communications terminating thousands of programs globally, including programs that had previously received waivers to operate under the lifesaving humanitarian assistance exemption. Some of these programs that were terminated provide critical, lifesaving aid to our sisters and brothers facing hunger, religious persecution, conflict and other affronts to their human dignity. Additionally, organizations have not been able to access funds to implement lifesaving programs—and this funding freeze continues.
Updated March 3
Legislative Ask
During your legislative meeting, you/your group will share why the Administration’s recent decision to terminate active foreign assistance programs that target the most vulnerable is affecting millions of our sisters and brothers around the world. You’ll make this legislative ask to your members:
Please urge the administration to halt and reverse all terminations of active foreign assistance programs that target the most vulnerable until a thorough and transparent review of foreign assistance programs is conducted and immediately resume the disbursement of Congressionally appropriated foreign assistance funds.
Updated March 3
This ask may change as the situation unfolds. If you are a meeting lead, please check back here or reach out to your CRS contact for the most up-to-date ask.
Why Advocate NOW?
Help Keep Hope Alive
Tens of thousands of CRS supporters nationwide have already responded to the freeze on foreign aid and program terminations by emailing and calling their legislators. In addition, CRS partners are working hard to mobilize their communities to action. Thank you to all who have advocated already! But our work is not done yet.
One important piece to furthering this work is for constituents like you to engage with their legislators through in-person meetings. Research shows that in-person meetings with lawmakers are the most impactful advocacy action you can take to impact decision-makers. During this time of uncertainty, legislative visits will be more important than ever to influence members and help them understand why it is so critical to resume lifesaving foreign assistance. This is your moment to act.
As people of faith, we seek systemic change through just policies and legislation that uphold human dignity and foster a world where all people can thrive. We can achieve this through consistent and sustained advocacy, steadily building strong bipartisan support in Congress to address global poverty and its root causes.
We know it takes time and energy to build support across the political aisles, which is why we view advocacy as a marathon, not a sprint. Every action is important, not just for the immediate win but for creating lasting solutions that benefit our entire human family. Every letter, phone call or visit is one more opportunity to strengthen relationships with lawmakers and demonstrate why an issue is important to you.
Meeting Preparation
Please review the legislative resources in preparation for your meetings:
- CRS Legislative Backgrounder - NEW March 10
- Legislative Meeting Talking Points - NEW March 10
Preparing for Visits
We recommend visits take place as soon as a meeting can be scheduled. If traveling for an in-person Senate meeting may not be ideal, virtual meetings are encouraged. Resources will be available as soon as possible, thank you for your patience as materials are rolled out.
- Meeting Lead Checklist in English (View in Spanish)
- Congressional Office Outreach Email Template
- Bilingual Congressional Visits Planning Worksheet
Legislative Materials
We recommend emailing the respective Send Ahead/Leave Behinds to congressional offices prior to your visit, in addition to handing staff a printed copy during an in-person meeting.
- CRS Send Ahead/Leave Behind - NEW March 3
After Visits are Complete
Step 1: Log Your Visits: Prior to your meeting, designate a specific person who will be responsible for reporting the congressional visit back to CRS, preferably a chapter member or club advisor who has access to the CRS Chapter Community. That person should include insights, lessons learned and meeting notes when reporting. This helps us better track which offices have received visits so we can provide appropriate follow-up, if necessary.
Step 2: Send a Thank You: The meeting lead or a designated person from your group should send the email as soon as possible after your visit.
- Thank You Email Templates - NEW March 10
Congressional Meeting Debrief
Consider leading a short debrief session to celebrate and honor the work your group has done and to learn and grow together. Watch the recording Effective Debriefing After a Congressional Visit for insight on this process.
Learning Opportunities
You are invited to join or watch the recording of these events to learn more information and to continue building your skills as an advocate and leader.
Meeting Leads Training
This one-hour training is for anyone interested in leading a legislative meeting during Spring Recess, or to learn more about how to lead a visit.
Watch the Meeting Leads Training recording.
If you indicated interest in leading the meeting on the registration form, a CRS staff member will reach out to you soon to provide additional support and guidance.
Spring Recess Q&A Sessions
These optional one-hour sessions are an opportunity to ask questions from CRS Government Relations staff about the legislative asks or about conducting effective legislative meetings.
Sessions concluded in February.
Coming soon.
Conducting Effective Meetings
- Getting Past Gatekeepers: Congressional Schedulers’ Advice for Meeting Requests Video.
- How to Meet with Your Member of Congress.
- How to Meet with Your Member of Congress Video Training.
- 5 Quick Tips to Avoid Sounding Scripted.
- House District Directors on the Do’s and Don’ts of In-State Meetings Video.
- Strategies to Influence Undecided Lawmakers Video.
- Effective Debriefing After a Congressional Visit Video Training.
Building Relationships
- Congressional Champion Scale.
- Building Relationships with Members of Congress Workshop.
- How to Build Relationships With Lawmakers Back Home Video.
Communicating with Congress
- What Congress is Looking for in Constituent Communications Video.
- Perceptions and Use of Social Media on Capitol Hill Video.
How Congress Works
Questions
Thank you for joining in this united effort to enact change in our world! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your CRS staff contact or email [email protected].
