Legislative Policy Collaborative

On Friday, November 15^th, about 40 Friends from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) area joined 438 other Friends from 43 states across the United States for meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC.

They came together for a day of FCNL-orchestrated meetings with congressional representatives. Conversations centered on the authorization of open-ended war and were supported by the year-round work done by a small group of Quakers in the Philadelphia area. These Friends work with FCNL to impact global and national issues through political processes open to all members of the American electorate.

Joining that many Quakers on Capitol Hill is an exhilarating feeling.  Friends, whether from California, Iowa, or North Carolina, entered the office of their representatives with tools to help shape positive discussions on legislation designed to support a more peaceful world.

Lynn Oberfield (Providence Meeting) reports; “we used FCNL’s lobbying process—which sets out one particular ‘ask’ around a standing Bill.” FCNL organizes lobbying only for legislation that has support from both political parties. It also shapes its targeted lobbying to be aligned with feedback previously collected from meetings across the country. FCNL staff then spend Thursday educating the volunteer lobbyists in advocacy best practices.

On Friday the volunteers launch themselves into the corridors of Capital Hill for a full day of face-to-face meetings with Senators and congress persons.

“This year,” Lynn says, “our FCNL-supported ask was to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF).  The Authorization, with its unbridled, blanket permission, has been used to continue, or begin, new wars in the Middle East and around the globe. As a result of repeated authorizations, the United States now has active troops in about 40 countries around the world.” Lynn notes that US service persons are not deployed as “peacemakers, but (are) men and women (being placed) in harm’s way.”

The delegations from the PYM region secured an in-person meeting with Senators Toomey and Casey. This, Lynn notes, “was due to the (prior) building of relationship … by reasoned, and reasonable, Quakers who worked over three years.  Because the Constitution places the power to declare and wage war with Congress, and this 2002 Authorization gave away that power to the Executive branch, it is not aligned with the (original) intent of the writers of the Constitution.”

In fact, Lynn, says, “the waging of war now rests potentially in the hands of one person in the Executive branch” and for some Friends, that does not feel “consistent with the world we seek.” Friends testimonies are naturally focused on using peaceful means, not conflictual ones, to solve problems and “we Quakers, striding across Capitol Hill, were animated by our faith to represent our viewpoint, tell stories about militarism gone awry, and ally with our representatives in common purpose to seek an end to endless war.”

To learn more about FCNL’s process for lobbying, on poverty, mass incarceration, and the environment or become more informed about what is happening in Congress, contact Deb Hejl or Mary Lou Hatcher at the Legislative Policy Collaborative.

Collaboratives are groups of Friends in the PYM region who join together to respond to shared interests in the areas of worship, Native Peoples, ministry, the environment and civic concerns. A full list of engagement opportunities is found at https://www.pym.org/working-together/

Thanks to training by Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), several hundred more Quakers are now well-prepared for lobbying congress.

Yesterday and today, FCNL held its Public Policy Institute in advance of the annual FCNL meeting, providing visiting Friends all the tools they need to effectively meet with congressional representatives and senators.

This year Friends have gathered to lobby in support of a farm bill that should keep food on the tables of families struggling with hunger. Two essential tools have been provided: knowledge about hunger’s negative impact, and lobbying know how. Friends were given a first-hand account of what hunger feels like for families, and shown how farm bill provisions can help. They were then trained in how to positively influence congressional thinkers through well-presented data, backed up by compelling story-telling.

Tool One: The Issue of Hunger and the Farm Bill.
To talk about hunger, FCNL convened a panel of experts who showed that lack of food hurts the minds and hearts of children and adults. Hungry children, for example, aren’t able to focus on learning, while hungry parents find it harder to be effective caregivers. One FCNL panelist, Barbie, was a mother from North Philadelphia who both serves as a food justice advocate and also relies on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to make ends meet when feeding her children. Her willingness to share her very compelling story was helpful. She’s been featured in film, at the White House, and in public policy spaces like FCNL. Advocacy work is humbling, she said, because “if I wasn’t poor I wouldn’t be here,” yet her stories are necessary for lawmakers to understand hunger’s impact.

Barbie shared heartbreaking techniques she taught her kids how to use–to help them power through moments when they were so hungry they couldn’t think about anything but food. And, while she admits it’s hard to walk in her shoes, she says it’d be even harder to not try do something about it. To hear her talk first hand, visit the Center for Hunger-Free Communities’ website.

We also heard from Amelia Kegan, the Legislative Director for Domestic Policy at FCNL. From her we learned facts and figures, passion, and poise under fire. Amelia preached ‘hunger justice’ even as she delivered concrete information that would help lobbying Friends make stronger cases. Her inspirational talk can be viewed on FCNL’s Facebook page.

The farm bill is the largest source of food assistance for millions of families in our country. One essential aspect of it is SNAP – which provides support for 40 million people, half of whom are children. The subsidy is less than $2/day, but that small amount translates to a meal children otherwise wouldn’t have.

The House and the Senate have passed their own, differing, versions of the farm bill, and the SNAP re-authorization is quite different in the two versions. The Senate bill protects SNAP and doubles down on supporting people who are particularly vulnerable. It passed the Senate with a very nonpartisan 87-11 vote. The House bill however applies further restrictions and decreases access to SNAP. It passed with narrow margins on a strictly partisan vote. An example of the differences between the two bills centers on a SNAP work requirement. Currently people who are ‘single and able to work’ can receive three months of the benefit, but states have the option to waive this rule when there are no jobs.

The Senate version of the bill preserves this option for the states, while the House version deletes it.

Friends’ are visiting their representatives and senators to encourage them to pass a final bill that mirrors the Senate version. In addition to maintaining protection from hunger, FCNL explains that such a move would demonstrate that cooperation yields a ‘win’ for everyone (as is exemplified by the non-partisan Senate version of the bill).

Tool Two: How to Lobby
After being given the facts and figures about hunger, Friends needed to learn what to do with this knowledge. FCNL has a clear process for supporting volunteer lobbyists during visits: they teach them to share personal stories, to identify a leader, choose a note-taker, and empower several storytellers to personally testify to the importance of the“ask.” They also suggest the group designate someone to serve as a follow up contact with congressional staff after the meeting concludes.

Friends were given time in small groups, assembled by state, so they could develop lobby visit plans. Pennsylvania had the largest group – with 45 lobbyists!  We used worksheets to guide our process, and received handouts we could leave with the lawmakers at the end. The process is so clear and supportive that Friends who had lobbied only once before could easily step into the role of leader.

Big Finale
All of the training led up to lobbying – 400 Friends strong.  Senators and Representatives were visited by Quakers all day on Friday!

Stay tuned to pym.org/news for more first-hand Quaker lobbying stories and pictures throughout the weekend.

As Quakers from across the United States descended on the capital today, the density of the Quaker population increased significantly in Washington, DC.

Friends came to the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) to talk about faith and witness, sharing their Quaker beliefs and work in support of civic society.

They also joined conversations that will establish FCNL’s bipartisan lobbying priorities for 2019, listened to policy experts, and advocated for legislation supported by both Democrat and Republican congresspeople. We live in a democracy, and sharing Quaker principles is a meaningful way to engage with lawmakers.

PYM’s General Secretary and Associate Secretary for Program and Religious Life (Christie Duncan-Tessmer and Zachary Dutton) are attending FCNL’s meetings Thursday and Friday. Each day they plan to post web reports on whom they’ve met, sharing stories about what our monthly meeting members hope to accomplish. For those of us who can’t be with them, here is what they witnessed first hand.

From Zachary Dutton:

“There is a display in the lobby of the FCNL annual meeting that reads, “Remember when we thought we could change the future? We still can.”  That positive attitude pervades the gathering I’m attending this weekend.

“This morning, people milled around greeting each other and I took a moment to connect with Nancy Martin (Newtown Monthly Meeting) who identifies as a ‘first timer’ at FCNL’s retreat and lobbying weekend. She said she’s been wanting to do this work for her whole life, because it brings the voices of different justice movements to the very doors of the people who have the power to improve lives through legislation. She talked about her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and explained she sees similar needs now. Activists, organizers, and legislators need to work together! There is more work to be done!

“This is my first time at the Annual Meeting of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, but when I arrived, I instantly recognized so many PYM Friends. I ran into Bob and Gloria Horvay (Mickleton Meeting) who are part of PYM’s governance leadership and serve on Nominating Council. I encountered Mary Lou Hatcher (Lehigh Valley Meeting), who is  a leader in PYM’s Legislative Policy Collaborative and a member of FCNL’s General Committee.

“Emily Temple, of Downingtown Meeting, was my “buddy” for the weekend, assigned to help me navigate the conference. She clerks the committee that plans FCNL’s Annual Meeting.

“I asked her what I should say about what makes FCNL ‘the place to be’ when people are considering how best to get involved.  She answered; lobbying and participating in FCNL’s governance proffers hope and energy in a discouraging world.

“I also met up with the graphic storyteller Joey Hartmann-Dow (Lehigh Valley Meeting). She recently created a ‘how-to’ booklet, FCNL SEEKS-issue 1, on lobbying for FCNL, and shared her feelings with me about the importance of empowerment, and the spiritually grounded ways we become motivated through the experience of lobbying.

“There are many ways to help make (legislative and other) change, and it’s important that people involved in various approaches work together as Quakers. Friends Committee on National Legislation is one great way to do it!”

Learn more about how FCNL trains people to lobby through FCNL’s lobbying toolkit.