Get Involved!

Community Activism

Schedule a Personal Visit

Posted on Tuesday August 25, 2009

At the beginning of the summer, AAI representatives met with the offices of Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) and U.S. Representatives Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Patrick Murphy (D-PA), Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA) and Gary Ackerman (D-NY). These meetings were both productive and informative, yet each of the offices reiterated that they would like to hear more often from their Arab American constituents.

Now is the time to schedule a personal visit with your representatives in your home town!

Here’s how:

  1. Schedule a meeting for three to five local Arab American community leaders. A small group of prominent local leaders demonstrates the seriousness of your meeting request and maximizes the time the Congress member has available.


  2. Call the member’s office (Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121) or send a letter (see sample letter) and outline what issues you would like to discuss and who will be attending the meeting.


  3. You may be scheduled to meet with a Congressional staff member. Staffers are relied upon for information and briefings and have a strong background in and understanding of the issues, so treat a meeting with a staff member as you would a meeting with your member of Congress.


  4. Email, fax, or mail as issues brief or a short agenda of what you’d like to cover during your visit. This lets your members of Congress know what concerns you have and gives them or their staff time to do any necessary research.