The Most Important Day
The Disability Policy Seminar’s Virtual Hill Day is an exciting opportunity to engage with your legislators and staff to advocate for our shared policy priorities from the comfort of your own home. Virtual Hill Day participants will be organized ahead of time into state-based delegations and will be invited to attend virtual meetings with your state’s Senators and U.S. Representatives. These meetings will be planned in advance by designated state leaders, and Virtual Hill Day participants will be provided with advocacy materials and training opportunities as part of the Disability Policy Seminar.
The purpose of these visits is to speak directly with your state’s Congressional delegation about the high-priority issues that affect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The challenges and realities facing the IDD community demand our continued focus and diligent advocacy. Critical programs like Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, Home and Community-Based Services, Supplemental Security Income, and Social Security are constantly threatened, yet these federal programs provide the key to community living and inclusion for people with IDD across the nation. These programs must be supported and expanded.
Through visits with Congressional leaders, participants can help ensure that critical programs and the civil rights of all people with IDD are protected.
Resources for Your Appointments
The Disability Policy Seminar partners are working with state captains in each state to coordinate this year’s Virtual Hill Day visits. As resources are developed, we will post them here.
Tips for Hill Meetings
Here are some tips to help you have more productive meetings with your Senators and Representative:
- Use the fact sheets you receive at the Disability Policy Seminar to help guide your conversation. You will receive tips at the Seminar for what to say and do.
- Please note that it may not always be possible to meet with your Senators or Representative. They have demanding schedules and you may instead have to meet with their staff. Fortunately, the staff is very knowledgeable, and they convey constituent information to their bosses.
- Talk about what’s most important to you—whether it’s Medicaid, Social Security, education, or other issues. Talk about how the issue or program affects your life, the life of your family, or the lives of the people you serve. Here’s an example of a virtual Hill visit where one constituent shared what is important to them.
- Fill out a legislative contact form for each meeting (to be coordinated by state captains).
