He was smiling when he said it, but Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut was only half kidding (perhaps not even that much) when he made a remark at the end of a meeting in his office last year. Attending the meeting with me were Stephen Hofmann of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, Vincent Arguimbau of Arguimbau & Co., and Nick Sargeantson of Sunland Trading, Inc. We were meeting with Congressman Shays and a member of his staff to express our opposition to the Byrd Amendment and ask him to sign on to a bill that had been introduced to repeal it.
The meeting went quite well. The Congressman and his staffer were quite willing to listen to what we had to say. Nick and Vinny, who are both from Congressman Shay’s district, did a fine job of providing first-hand accounts of how the Byrd Amendment impacts their companies and many other similar U.S. businesses. Steve and I provided moral support and backup information as needed. As the meeting was ending, Congressman Shays said it sounded as if our position was the correct one but that he would have to do some checking before he could agree to sign onto the bill. The staff member said he would be sure to be in touch with us to let us know their position. That’s when Congressman Shays, with a sly grin, said, “Well, we’ll at least be in touch with the two important people in your group.”
Those few words spoke volumes. It was abundantly clear the weight it carried to have two constituents speak with the congressman. It made me think back to other previous meetings. Whenever an AFI member was in the meeting, whether or not the member of Congress was able to attend or if we were meeting just with staff, my importance at the meeting was greatly diminished. Sure, I still laid out any points that needed to be raised, but it was quite clear the people we were meeting with wanted to hear from the AFI member.
One member of Congress went to great lengths to meet with us. When Joseph Profaci of Colavita and I arrived at the office of Congressman Robert Menendez for our scheduled meeting, we were asked by a member of his staff if we would mind going over to the Capitol to meet with the congressman in an office just off the House floor. Though the House was in session and a vote was coming up shortly, Congressman Menendez took time out to meet with us and hear our - or should I say Joe’s – concerns.
While the above examples did nothing for my ego, they clearly demonstrate the impact and influence members of AFI can have. It’s quite understandable that people can’t drop everything and go to Washington or to their Congressman’s local office at the drop of a hat. But when AFI sends a notice about possible meetings with members of Congress, please make sure the reason you don’t decide to attend is that you think you won’t be listened to or make a difference.
The same holds true for letters or phone calls; they hold much more weight when they come from constituents. In some cases, only letters or calls from constituents get through. Whenever possible we provide a template members can use to make it as easy as possible to make their voice heard. I commend the membership for the great job its done in submitting letters when asked. I know how busy things can get and appreciate the effort.
