WHAT TO SAY IN YOUR SMARTER SENTENCING ACT MEETINGS WITH YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS Once you set up a meeting with your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators, here are some tips and “talking points” for your meetings on the Smarter Sentencing Act: • Arrive on time, and be patient. Lawmakers and their staffs have many meetings and may be late to yours. Be patient and polite if you have to wait. Also, it’s okay if you cannot meet with the lawmaker; they are busy and travel often. Meeting with a staff member is still valuable, because they will report back to the lawmakers on what you say! Say thank you and introduce yourself. Start your meeting by thanking the lawmaker or staff member for meeting with you. You and any others visiting with you should introduce yourselves and say where you live. • Briefly explain what you’re there to discuss and why you care. For example, “Today we want to meet with you to discuss the Smarter Sentencing Act. We care about this bill because …” Your reasons could be concerns about high prison costs or populations, fairness, or social or personal impact, like having a loved one in prison. o If you have a loved one in prison, share your story in two minutes or less. Bring pictures of your family member in prison. Don’t ask for help getting your loved one home sooner. Instead, simply let the lawmaker know that this issue affects you and thousands of people just like you. • Tell your lawmaker these five things about the Smarter Sentencing Act: o It is a bipartisan bill – members from both political parties support it! o The bill saves billions of dollars by reducing excessive mandatory minimum drug sentences by half. o The bill increases fairness by ensuring that the lowest-level, nonviolent drug offenders with very minor criminal records can be sentenced below the mandatory minimum term. o The bill fixes a racial disparity by making the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive. o The bill protects the public – it applies only to nonviolent drug offenders. • Provide a factsheet that explains the bill. Print out a copy of this factsheet and give it to the lawmaker or staff member: famm.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SSASummary- both-houses.pdf • Ask for the lawmaker’s view on the bill. “Where do you stand on mandatory minimum sentences? Why? Are there any parts of this bill that concern you?” • Ask the lawmaker to support the bill. Don’t get into an argument, but politely ask for the lawmaker’s support: “We think this is a reasonable bill that saves money and keeps us safe, and we ask you to become a cosponsor or support it when it is voted on. We also do not want anything harmful added to this bill when it is voted on.” • If the lawmaker supports the bill, say thank you! Tell the lawmaker or staff member that you appreciate their support for the bill. • Say thank you again, and leave your name and address for follow up. “Thank you for meeting with us, and please feel free to contact me again if I can be of help to you.” Leave a business card, or write your contact information down and give it to the person you meet with before you leave. • Afterwards, tell FAMM how it went! Email us at [email protected] or call us at 202- 822-6700 to tell us how your meeting went and what your lawmaker said
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 01:40:17 +0000
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