What are DPAC District Days?
Your Congressional representatives don’t spend all year in Washington, D.C. voting on bills. In fact, they will only spend 110 days there in 2016. One of the most important things that they do is meet with their constituents while in their own districts. These times at home this summer are a great opportunity for DPAC District Days - and we want to make it as easy as possible to be a diabetes policy advocate!As you know, there are over 6,000 bills and resolutions introduced in Congress every year. Some bills (like the ones impacting diabetes) can get lost in the shuffle. How do they know which bills are important to their constituents? We tell them.
D.C. Work Weeks versus District Work Weeks
It’s not always economically feasible for people to travel to D.C. to speak with a Congressperson when they are in the District of Columbia. When Congress is in session, it's a D.C. Work Week. When they come home, it's a... District Work Week.While you'll see organizations that bring advocates to Washington as a group and lots of photo opportunities abound, you can be just as effective without traveling. (And you can get great photo opportunities of your own!)
When are DPAC District Days?
From July 18 to September 2, 2016, our Congressional representatives will be in their own districts. (Note: this year, the last two weeks of July are the national conventions for each party. Your representative may not be in district for that particular week.) That gives us four weeks to meet with them (or their staff, which is just as or sometimes more important!) or participate in a local Town Hall to speak up about diabetes issues with your Congressperson in attendance.
How You Be A Rockstar Diabetes Policy Advocate?
Keep reading the posts. Keep taking the actions. Keep living your lives, because we will have it covered for you.
- - We'll have checklists.
- - We'll have downloadable information sheets to bring to the meeting.
- - And over the next few months, we'll be walking you step-by-step through DPAC District Days.
We want to make it easy for you. From gathering people impacted with diabetes who may want to go with you to a meeting to the thank you follow-up and media suggestions to get your photo in the local news, DPAC will give you all the tools.
Interested in DPAC District Days?
Great! Here are a few steps to start:
- - Sign up for timely emails that will walk you step-by-step through a successful meeting with your representatives this summer.
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- - If you don't know yet, find out who your representatives are and if they support diabetes bills. You can do this by going to the DPAC Scorecard and going to your state. And if you don't know which representative is in your district, you can check by zip code.
- - Interested in scheduling a meeting with your Senators in your state? Get a group together and make an impact! We'll show you how and help you set it up!