Notes about any previous contact you have had with this legislator (meetings, phone
calls, fundraising, etc.):
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Did you support this candidate?
Yes
No
Did not know of candidate
If yes, did you actively support him or her? (i.e., volunteer on his/her campaign, attend
a fundraiser or set up a meeting) Yes No
Do you know this legislator personally?
Yes
No
Somewhat
Note any personal connections to this candidate (i.e., “went to school together,”
“worked together,” etc.):
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Note any other relevant information about this legislator:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Know Who You’re
Talking To
(And Why You’re Relevant)
Before you meet with your elected officials, you should take a
little time to learn about their interests so you can frame your
message in a way that will help get their full attention. If you’re
really ambitious, you can organize your findings in a spreadsheet
or database to update and review as needed. This document
includes a Legislator Profile worksheet that may be useful in
capturing this information.
Whose District or State Am I in?
One of the most common questions
asked in legislative offices is “is the
advocate from my district?”
Representatives and senators represent
distinct groups of people and devote
their energy to the requests and needs
of those individuals. Members of the
House represent all the people who
reside in a distinct geographic area called
a legislative or congressional district.
Senators represent an entire state. Hence,
every American has one representative
and two senators who are responsible for
representing their views. In general, stick
to contacting your own representative
and senators.
What Is the Legislator
Passionate About?
Every legislator works on and is
passionate about different issues. You
can find out what your legislators are
most interested in on their websites,
which are easy to get to from
www.stroke.org/actioncenter.
What Committee or Committees Is
My Legislator on?
Legislators are assigned to committees
based on their interests, their districts or
states and (for the more competitive major
committees) on how long they have served
as a legislator (seniority). Legislators
usually serve on one to three committees.
A legislator’s ability to influence legislation
depends largely on whether he or she is
a member of the committee that oversees
related issues. Policies that impact stroke
survivors may be considered by a variety
of committees, including:
Worksheet: Legislator Profile
• House Energy and Commerce
City: ____________________________ State:_______________ Zip: _ __________
• House Ways and Means
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions (HELP)
• Senate Finance
Name of legislator: ____________________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________
Phone: ___________________________ Email: ____________________________
Website: ____________________________ District/party: _____________________
• House and Senate Appropriations
Name of staff person handling stroke survivor issues (usually the healthcare aide):
Where Is My Legislator on the
Seniority Scale?
___________________________________________________________________
All legislators are ranked on a scale
of seniority, based on when they were
elected to that office. Legislators with
seniority as well as those who serve as
a committee chair, ranking member or a
member of the elected leadership
will have the greatest ability to move
policy proposals through the
legislative process.
What Party Does My Legislator
Belong to?
Legislators help all constituents, not
just those who are members of their
political party. However, it is important
to know the legislator’s party affiliation
to determine whether they are part of
the majority or minority party. Members of
the majority party do have an advantage in
efforts to get legislative proposals passed.
Is this a new legislator (i.e., new to this particular office)? Yes
No
What are three of her/his top policy interests?
(Resources: www.stroke.org/actioncenter, www.congress.gov [to look up bills they’ve
introduced], www.house.gov or www.senate.gov [for legislators’ websites] or Google)
• __________________________________________________________________
• __________________________________________________________________
• __________________________________________________________________
Indicate whether this legislator supported or opposed your issues in the past:
(Resources: www.stroke.org/actioncenter and www.votesmart.org)
•___________________________________________________________________
•___________________________________________________________________
•___________________________________________________________________
Whose District or State Am I in?
One of the most common questions
asked in legislative offices is “is the
advocate from my district?”
Representatives and senators represent
distinct groups of people and devote
their energy to the requests and needs
of those individuals. Members of the
House represent all the people who
reside in a distinct geographic area called
a legislative or congressional district.
Senators represent an entire state. Hence,
every American has one representative
and two senators who are responsible for
representing their views. In general, stick
to contacting your own representative
and senators.
What Is the Legislator
Passionate About?
Every legislator works on and is
passionate about different issues. You
can find out what your legislators are
most interested in on their websites,
which are easy to get to from
www.stroke.org/actioncenter.
What Committee or Committees Is
My Legislator on?
Legislators are assigned to committees
based on their interests, their districts or
states and (for the more competitive major
committees) on how long they have served
as a legislator (seniority). Legislators
usually serve on one to three committees.
A legislator’s ability to influence legislation
depends largely on whether he or she is
a member of the committee that oversees
related issues. Policies that impact stroke
survivors may be considered by a variety
of committees, including:
Worksheet: Legislator Profile
• House Energy and Commerce
City: ____________________________ State:_______________ Zip: _ __________
• House Ways and Means
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions (HELP)
• Senate Finance
Name of legislator: ____________________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________
Phone: ___________________________ Email: ____________________________
Website: ____________________________ District/party: _____________________
• House and Senate Appropriations
Name of staff person handling stroke survivor issues (usually the healthcare aide):
Where Is My Legislator on the
Seniority Scale?
___________________________________________________________________
All legislators are ranked on a scale
of seniority, based on when they were
elected to that office. Legislators with
seniority as well as those who serve as
a committee chair, ranking member or a
member of the elected leadership
will have the greatest ability to move
policy proposals through the
legislative process.
What Party Does My Legislator
Belong to?
Legislators help all constituents, not
just those who are members of their
political party. However, it is important
to know the legislator’s party affiliation
to determine whether they are part of
the majority or minority party. Members of
the majority party do have an advantage in
efforts to get legislative proposals passed.
Is this a new legislator (i.e., new to this particular office)? Yes
No
What are three of her/his top policy interests?
(Resources: www.stroke.org/actioncenter, www.congress.gov [to look up bills they’ve
introduced], www.house.gov or www.senate.gov [for legislators’ websites] or Google)
• __________________________________________________________________
• __________________________________________________________________
• __________________________________________________________________
Indicate whether this legislator supported or opposed your issues in the past:
(Resources: www.stroke.org/actioncenter and www.votesmart.org)
•___________________________________________________________________
•___________________________________________________________________
•___________________________________________________________________
Notes about any previous contact you have had with this legislator (meetings, phone
calls, fundraising, etc.):
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Did you support this candidate?
Yes
No
Did not know of candidate
If yes, did you actively support him or her? (i.e., volunteer on his/her campaign, attend
a fundraiser or set up a meeting) Yes No
Do you know this legislator personally?
Yes
No
Somewhat
Note any personal connections to this candidate (i.e., “went to school together,”
“worked together,” etc.):
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Note any other relevant information about this legislator:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Know Who You’re
Talking To
(And Why You’re Relevant)
Before you meet with your elected officials, you should take a
little time to learn about their interests so you can frame your
message in a way that will help get their full attention. If you’re
really ambitious, you can organize your findings in a spreadsheet
or database to update and review as needed. This document
includes a Legislator Profile worksheet that may be useful in
capturing this information.