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Advocacy Tips: Steps Toward Effective Communication with Congressional Offices  

   The best communication with our elected policy makers requires ongoing interaction, not just contacting them in a crisis. A key factor in a member of Congress’ decision on an issue is often the importance that his or her constituents place on the issue. Every member, especially those on the Appropriations Committees, must be aware of specific examples of how federal funding has affected the delivery of rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities in their state and district. When members of Congress return home, make sure that they experience firsthand your accomplishments and successful programs. Here are steps you can take to build a stronger information program.

 

1. Get to know your Representative and Senators and their key aides. It is easier to approach your legislators or their aides if you have already established a relationship with them.

 

2. Make use of your legislator’s local office. Staff members are there to listen to and ascertain the needs and opinions of the legislator’s constituents. You will want to be sure that they are aware of the positive, important role that the public vocational rehabilitation program fulfills in their own Congressional district. Give particulars.

 

3. Invite your legislator and/or his/her staff to a local program.

In this way you can educate them about the value of the program in their Congressional district, as well as cultivate some understanding of the needs of the local community.

 

4. Familiarize yourself with the legislative process. Your Representative or Senator can send you a publication entitled "How Our Laws are Made," which will help to answer some of the questions you may have about the legislative process.

 

Tips on Writing Your Legislators

1. Use the correct address. You can write your Representative

and Senators at the following addresses:

 

2. Be legible. Type your letter, or write clearly. Be sure to include your return address on the letter.

 

3. Use your own words and your own stationery. Legislators feel that personal letters, rather than form letters, show a greater personal commitment on the part of the writer and consequently carry greater weight.

 

4. Clearly identify the bill of issue by the bill number and common title.

 

5. Focus. Don’t write about a laundry list of issues. If your request is to receive the individual attention you think it deserves, then focus on it in your letter. Otherwise, it may get lost in the crowd of other issues.

 

6. Be brief. A letter that is concise and to the point is more likely to be read and remembered than one that rambles.

 

7. Be specific. Your letter should be long enough to explain why you are writing. Share your knowledge of the program or issue with him or her. Since members of Congress can’t be experts on all issues, they welcome such information, especially as it relates to their districts.

 

8. Know your facts. It is important to be accurate and honest in your letter. You can seriously hurt your credibility by inaccurate or misleading information.

 

9. Don’t threaten. You will only alienate your legislator and cause bad feelings that may hurt your cause.

 

10. Ask your legislator to state his or her position on the issue. As a constituent, you have a right to know.

 

11. Be timely. Contact your legislator while there is time for him/her to consider and act on your request. Since timing can be crucial, it is critical that you act as soon as possible. Be aware that Congress can move incredibly quickly and with little notice.

 

12. Be persistent. Don’t be satisfied with letters that give a status report on the bill, promise to "keep your views in mind," or otherwise skirt the issue. Without being rude, write back and ask for a more specific response.

 

13. Say thank you. Like everyone else, legislators appreciate a pat on the back. This is an important part of effective communication, and one that we all too often forget. If, however, your legislator did not support your position, let him or her know that you are aware of that, and explain why you think they should have decided differently. It might make a difference next time.

 

Link here or scroll down for a Sample Letter

 

14. Don’t forget to provide feedback to Jack Duncan’s office. Jack and his staff need to know the results of your efforts and any information you have regarding the position your legislator will take on a particular issue.

 

 

 

Sample Letter

 

ADDRESS TO:

The Honorable

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington , D.C. 20515

 

SALUTATION:

 

I am writing to urge your support for an appropriation level of

$3 billion for FY2001, Section 110, Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants. This job training program is woefully underfunded.

Only an estimated 5 to 7% of the eligible population are now served.

A further devastating fact is that over 60% of all working age

Americans with disabilities do not have jobs. 

(Feel free to personalize your letters as much as possible by adding information specific to your experiences and back­ground).

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

 

 

IMPORTANT POINTS TO EMPHASIZE

 

• Persons with disabilities are among the most unemployed and 

           underemployed in our society (over 60%).

 

• Inadequate funding has resulted in State Vocational 

          Rehabilitation Agencies ability to serve only one out of 

          every 20 persons eligible for vocational rehabilitation services.

         A recent study conducted by the Council of State Administrators  

       of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) resulted in the findings that 

       if Congress appropriated $3 billion, an increase of $662 million 

       over the present years appropriations, the State Agencies would 

       be able to rehabilitate over 350,000 additional individuals with 

       disabilities.

 

• The Government spends an estimated $200 billion a year on 

           persons with disabilities but only a little over $2 billion of that     

         is available for assisting persons with disabilities to become    

         employed, tax-paying citizens.

 

• This is a cost effective program. For every $1 spent on the program, the Office of Management and Budget reports that $11 are returned in 

           taxes.

 

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Advocacy: A First Amendment Right

The U.S. Constitution guarantees the basic democratic right of all citizens to petition their government—to contact their legislators and plead a case. The leaders, members and supporters of nonprofit organizations have proven themselves to be effective and respected players participating in advocacy and shaping public policy. Because nonprofit organizations are an effective channel for citizens to participate in the process and for discussion of policy and legislation, the federal government clearly supports lobbying by these nonprofit organizations.

Recognizing the value of the research and information provided by nonprofit groups lobbying on various public issues, Congress enacted legislation in 1976 making it possible for nonprofit organizations to lobby freely for their causes, and for the communities and individuals they serve. Federal tax code regulations, issued by the IRS in 1990, reiterate the policy of providing wide latitude  to lobby.

Lobbying  in the Public Interest: Tax Laws and Lobbying

The 1976 legislation passed by Congress and enacted into law permits charitable 501(c)(3) organizations greater freedom in spending on lobbying activities. This law and its 1990 regulations are clearer than the prior law applied to 501(c)(3) groups, and are more generous about the lobbying activities in which a nonprofit can engage. Under prior law, groups could spend no more than five percent of total expenditures—less than a “substantial” amount, as determined in a federal court ruling—on lobbying. With the 1990 regulations, nonprofit organizations that are tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code can easily elect to conduct their lobbying under the 501(h) provisions of the 1976 law, which allows expenditures of up to 20 percent for lobbying and advocacy activities.

The Main Elements of the Federal Lobbying Law

1. Specific permitted levels of lobbying spending

The 1976 law states that lobbying activities are permitted, provided only that they fall within spending ceilings established in the law. The overall budget ceiling is based on a percentage of an organization’s annual budget, starting at 20 percent of the first $500,000 and scaling down for expenditures over that. For an organization with a $1,000,000 budget, for example, 20 percent of the first $500,000 and 15 percent of the remaining $500,000 can be used for lobbying, for a total $175,000 lobbying budget.

The law makes a distinction between “direct” lobbying—direct communications with legislators and their staffs, with executive branch officials who participate in the formulation of legislation and with the organization’s members to urge them to contact legislators—and “grassroots” lobbying—seeking “to influence legislation through an attempt to affect the opinions of the general public or any segment thereof.”

Expenses for grassroots lobbying are limited to one-quarter of the overall ceiling ($93,750 of the allowed $175,000 for a charity with a $1,000,000 budget). Lobbying expenses over $93,750 in the example must be for direct lobbying.

 2. Defined exclusions from lobbying

The law describes which expenditures for activities related to public policy and legislative issues are not considered lobbying. These include:

• Communications to members of the organization that discuss legislation but do not urge action by the members.  

• Providing results of analysis or research on a legislative issue with a full and fair exposition of the pertinent facts to enable the audience to form an independent opinion. This applies even to research that takes a direct position on the merits of legislation, but which presents the facts fully and fairly and does not urge the reader to contact legislators.  

• Responding to written requests from a legislative committee or subcommittee for technical advice on pending legislation.  

• “Self-defense” lobbying on issues that might affect the organization’s own existence or exempt status, for example.  

• Discussion of broad social, economic and similar policy issues whose resolution would require legislation, so long as there is no discussion of specific legislative measures.  

Under the rules defining lobbying activities, a group can make any public statement it likes on a legislative issue—so long as it does not call for the public to act—without the costs counting against its limit for grassroots lobbying.

3. Flexible sanctions

The law includes a system of sanctions more flexible than the tax law before 1976, to replace the “death sentence” of loss of exemption as the only sanction for violating the substantiality test. The initial sanction for spending above the overall or grassroots limits is a 25 percent excise tax on the lobbying spent in any year above the ceiling. Loss of exemption is imposed only if spending exceeds 150 percent of either the grassroots or total lobbying limit aggregated over a four-year period.

4. Clear financial standards

The previous law was unclear about what activity counts against the substantiality standard, but under section 501(h) the only factor that must be taken into account is the cost of communications for direct and grassroots lobbying, including the cost of preparing the communication, such as staff time, facilities and allocable overhead.

5. Little additional accounting

All section 501(c)(3) organizations, if they have elected 501(h) or not, must report the total amount of their lobbying expenditures on IRS Form 990. Organizations electing under 501(h) will be able to omit the detailed descriptions of lobbying activities from their tax returns. The only additional requirement for electing organizations is that they break down the expenditures into direct and grassroots lobbying activities. Both classes of organizations must maintain records to support the entries on the tax return.

6. Managers’ liability removed

For organizations not electing, there is a tax on managers “who willfully and unreasonably agree to lobbying expenditures knowing they are likely to cause loss of exemptions.”  This rule does not apply to organizations under section 501(h).

Organizations that elect to come under section 501(h) of the IRS code need to file IRS Form 5786, which identifies the organization and indicates that its governing body has elected to come under the provisions of the 1976 law.

Some Questions about 501(h) Status  

Does 501(h) status provide a nonprofit organization with more leeway to spend on lobbying activities?  

 

Yes. The law establishes a specific dollar ceiling based on a percentage of the organization’s overall budget (higher than the vague percentage used under the old substantiality test) with clear definitions for deciding whether an activity that could affect public policy is lobbying. The new rules are relatively generous in their percentage and specific in their definitions, relieving an organization from the ambiguity of the old situation.  

Does electing 501(h) status negatively affect the ability of a group to receive grants?  

 

No. In fact, the IRS regulations specifically allow a private foundation to make a general purpose grant to an electing organization without any liability. Additionally, a private foundation may make a grant to support a specific project that includes lobbying so long as the grant is less than the amount budgeted for the nonlobbying parts of the project.  

 

Does electing put an organization on an IRS “advocacy hit list”?  

 

No. Electing to come under the 1976 lobby law does not increase the chances of being audited by the IRS. The IRS indicates no connection between electing 501(h) and becoming subject to an audit on account of lobbying activities. To the contrary, IRS auditors anticipate that questions about lobbying expenditures are more likely to arise on an audit in the case of organizations that have not elected.  

 

Does electing 501(h) change an organization’s status from that of a 501(c)(3)?  

 

No. The election is a subcategory. Electing organizations retain their 501(c)(3) status and identity.  

 

Will agencies of state government be prohibited from paying dues to an organization that has made the 501(h) election?  

 

No. The extent of an organization’s lobbying and advocacy activities does not change because of the election. The 501(h) designation is one that exists for purposes of accounting between the IRS and the 501(c)(3) organization.  

 

In general, nonprofit organizations that select 501(h) status under the lobby law may spend 20 percent of the first $500,000 of their annual budget on lobbying ($100,000) and 15 percent of the next $500,000. Because lobbying by nonprofit groups is rarely expensive - involving communications and printing costs, some staff time, and considerable volunteer activity - most nonprofit groups are not likely even to approach overspending the legal limits on lobbying.

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