In many cases, you will not be able to meet or speak directly with your Member of Congress. Instead, you may meet with the staff member who handles transportation/aviation issues for the office.
•Treat the staff member with the same professional courtesy you would afford the Member.
•While staff expertise will vary from office to office, aviation subcommittee staff members and personal staff of members who serve on the aviation subcommittee will know aviation issues well, and many hold influence over the setting of legislative priorities.
•Adapt your message to the experience level of the staff member and be sensitive to their status as personal or committee staff. A committee staff member will usually hold considerable expertise in aviation policy will likely balance your argument against a larger picture while a personal staff member may be more responsive to constituent concerns.
•Even a staff member who seems amenable to your position needs to be armed with your arguments. Consider that your task is not to convince the staff member to agree with your position, but to help him or her convince the Member to take action on it.
•Follow-up with a letter or fax and any additional information requested. Developing relationships with staff is the most critical step in effective government relations.
Staff Roles
Personal Staff
Chief of Staff: The Chief of Staff, (CoS) reports directly to the Member of Congress. He or she usually has overall responsibility for evaluating the political outcome of various legislative proposals and constituent requests. The CoS usually assigns tasks and supervises other key office staff.
Legislative Assistant: Legislative Assistants (LA) in an office are tasked with monitoring and advising on specific issues within an area or industry in which they have particular expertise.
Legislative Correspondent: Answers telephones and often drafts constituent mail. LCs occasionally handles specific issues.
Legislative Director: The Legislative Director (LD) monitors the legislative schedlule and makes recommendations on issues.
Press Secretary/Communications Director: The Press Secretary establishes and maintains effective lines of communication between the Member, his or her constituency, and the general public. He or she is responsible for issuing press releases and monitoring public opinion.
Scheduler/Appointment Secretary: The Scheduler is responsible for allocating a Member’s time among Congressional responsibilities, staff requirements, and constituent requests. The Scheduler often makes travel arrangements and arranges speaking dates in Washington, D.C. and in the district.
Staff Assistant: Usually performs receptionist duties such as answering telephones, opening mail, and greeting visitors.
Committee Staff
Chief of Staff: The Chief of Staff, (CoS) reports directly to the Chairman of the committee or subcommittee. He or she usually has overall responsibility for evaluating the political outcome of various legislative proposals. The CoS usually assigns tasks and supervises other key office staff, including those subcommittee staff-members.
Majority Counsel: The Committee Counsel, at the direction and guidance of the Chairman of the committee or subcommittee, drafts legislation, determines whether hearings should be held on a subject, and sets legislative priorities.
Minority Counsel: The Committee’s Minority Staff Counsel reports to the ranking member of the committee or subcommittee, and drafts legislation and determines the legislative priority for the minority members of the committee or subcommittee.
Assistant Counsel: Assists majority or minority counsels in drafting legislation and planning hearings.
Professional Staff Member: Responsible for researching issues; helps draft legislation, schedules hearing witnesses, and may be responsible for gathering support from industry.
Staff Assistant: Helps to schedule hearing witnesses, keeps track of requests for information, answers telephones and drafts some committee correspondence.