Mission Statement: The mission statement of the Sons of The American Legion National Legislative Commission is to have an effective and productive way of communicating with Congress and other elected officials by the use of Grassroots Advocacy. To supply the tools to all members to accomplish this task productively and with the best possible results. To have all members of our organization be active participants. To disseminate legislative information to the entire membership in a timely manner to make them more informed members, along with an awareness of the issues and legislation. The National Legislative Commission’s role is to ensure our members are aware of and informed on issues that are central to the support and well being of our veterans and their families, our communities, our youth, and our nation. We advocate open lines of communication with local, state and nationally elected officials and promote grass-roots level of advocacy and action at all levels of our organization.
Legislative
Legislative Program - Outline
V. Legislative Resources
I. Legislative Advocacy
A. National
Goal: To increase the influence of the Sons of The American Legion in legislative offices on Capitol Hill.
Tactics:
1. Establish an ongoing relationship with an open line of communication with strategically selected elected officials.
2. Build working relationships with reliable and dedicated staff people in those offices.
3. Provide frequent communication to elected officials for the purpose of legislative updates and status of specific legislation.
4. Provide each Senate and House VA Committee Member Offices with a subscription of The Update.
5. Explore opportunities to use new technology to enhance quick dissemination of legislative information to members.
Best Practices
1. Write letters, send e-mails, faxes, and make phone calls to share your opinion
and point of view with elected officials on legislative issues.
2. Ask legislators how they will vote on specific issues and ask for their response in writing.
3. Thank legislators immediately after vote is taken on specific issues.
4. Offer your assistance to your Post and help them set up a Town Hall Meeting.
5. Sign up for the National Legislative Commission E-Group.
B. State
Goal: Encourage relationship building of Detachments with elected officials in their
respected state.
Tactics:
1. Encourage and assist Legion Family Department Leadership in forming one on one
relationships with their senators and elected officials.
2. Provide resource materials to assist department leadership and interested membership in becoming familiar with the office structure and the individual staff
and their role in the legislative process.
3. Continue frequent contact with elected officials for the purpose of legislative updates and status on specific legislation.
4. Invite elected officials to speak at your Squadron and/or District Meetings.
5. Identify three-five strategic departments to sponsor remote (local) hill-walks.
Best Practices
1. Invite your state legislators to address The American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, and Sons of The American Legion.
2. Let your state legislator know what action you would like from him/her.
3. Most Congressional offices include: Chief of Staff, Director of the District
or State Office, Appointment Secretary, Legislative Assistants,
Committee/Subcommittee Staff, and Case/Project Workers.
4. Ask for a specific person’s e-mail address to use for important issues.
II. Grass-Roots Advocacy
Goal: To raise awareness of the continued importance and coordination of grassroots
involvement to accomplish our legislative agenda.
Tactics:
1. Identify 2 or 3 legislative issues supporting The American Legion directly related to veterans and /or military families that could use the support of the Sons of The American Legion.
2. Partner with other organizations and agencies that have similar interests and work
together to accomplish advocacy efforts (i.e. the Citizen Flag Alliance).
3. In conjunction with the Americanism Commission, support and encourage squadron and detachment sponsorship of “Get-out-the-Vote” initiatives.
4. Encourage military absentee voting for those military personnel out of country.
Best Practices
1. Create a network through current organizations and agencies to find new
partners with interests in issues related to veterans and/or military families.
2. Have voter registration forms on hand at the local posts. When signing up new members, make sure they are registered voters.
3. Publicize in local newspapers the importance to be a registered voter and
every citizen’s patriotic duty to vote in the General Election.
4. Provide transportation services to get members, disabled veterans, and the
public to the polls.
5. Contact families to get absentee ballots to military family members early
enough to be counted.
lII. Supporting American Legion Legislative Efforts
Goal: Support the initiatives of The American Legion and the Sons of The American Legion on legislative issues.
Tactics:
1. Work cooperatively with the American Legion Director, the Sons of The American Legion Legislative Chairman and the American Legion Auxiliary DC Director to keep abreast of the status of hot topics and legislative issues.
2. Ensue that all action, whether co-sponsored or independent is in accordance
with American Legion family values.
Best Practices
1. Work directly with The American Legion to identify issues of importance.
2. Work directly with your counterpart in The American Legion on legislative issues.
IV. Awards
A. GRASSROOTS VETERANS’ ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Grassroots Veterans’ Advocate of The Year Award recognizes a member who has performed outstanding service and made significant contributions of time and effort in
Grassroots Veterans’ Advocacy work. In no instance will more than one award be given
in a year. It is possible that this award may not be given every year. One award will be
presented each year to a member who displays an aggressive leadership role by
building relationships with elected officials that directly impact public policy; by actively
taking the message of the National Sons of The American Legion to key media outlets;
and by developing strong grassroots initiatives.
B. Individual Recognition Certificates
A recognition certificate will be presented to individual Squadron members that forward the National Legislative Chairman copies of responses received from congressional leaders as a result of their advocacy efforts; letters, emails, visits, etc. Packets of
correspondence must be post-marked by June 1, 2009 to be considered.
V. Resources
The Sons of The American Legion National Legislative Commission Web Page
http://www.sal.legion.org/legislative
Legislative Commission Informational Booklet
http://www.sal.legion.org/legislative/leginfobk
Resources available through The American Legion:
The DISPATCH is a periodical publication of The American Legion. It’s an invaluable
resource when writing letters, preparing bulletins or reporting to the membership. Gift
subscriptions are available; the subscription price is $15.00 annually.
The Legislative Handbook is another publication of the National Legislative Commission of The American Legion describing the importance of legislation to all programs of The American Legion Family, why individual participation is necessary, and providing guidelines as to how and when to respond.
How to Make a Difference Through Effective Grassroots Lobbying
This publication walks the member through Grassroots Lobbying from the basics to proven techniques that work. The member is taught how to be successful at grassroots lobbying. This publication is available and can be purchased through Emblem Sales.
The American Legion Legislative Action Center: Insert your own e-mail address and it will send all copies of Alerts directly to you. On the same page sign up for the Action E-List and be notified by e-mail when you can make a critical difference on important issues.
http://capwiz.com/legion/home/
Additional Resources:
Congressional Yellow Pages. A comprehensive guide to all Federal agencies and
government offices. www.leadershipdirectories.com, (212) 627-4140.
Media Contacts
ABC News: http://www.cbsnews.com
CNN: http://www.CNN.com
C-Span: http://www.C-Span.org
NBC News: http://www.msnbc.com
The Hill: http://www.hillnews.com
Publications
Congress at your Fingertips. A comprehensive guide with profiles of all members of
Congress including key websites and contact information, standing committees and state
Congressional district maps. Capitol Advantage, www.captioladvantage.com,
(877) 827-3321.
Related Websites
Congressional Record: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/index.html
Department of Defense: http://www.defenselink.mil/
Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov
Federal Election Commission: http://www.fec.gov
House Committee on Veterans Affairs: http://veterans.house.gov
House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov
Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov
Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs: http://veterans.senate.gov
State Department: http://www.state.gov
Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov
THOMAS Legislative Information: http://thomas.loc.gov/
U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov
U.S. Senate: http://www.senate.gov
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov
Telephone Resources
Democratic National Committee (202) 863-8000
Republican National Committee (202) 479-7000
U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121
For information on the status of a bill pending In the Senate or House of Representative: 1-202-225-1772
A recording providing an update of events on the floor of the Senate from a Democratic prospective: 1-202-224-8541
A recording providing an update of events on the floor of the Senate from a Republican prospective: 1-202-224-8601
A recording providing an update of events on the floor of the House of Representative from a Democratic prospective: 1-202-224-7400
A recording providing an update of events on the floor of the House of Representative from a Republican prospective: 1-202-225-7430
George Evans
Legislative Chairman
