Your elected representatives do.
When most Americans think of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, they think of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and perhaps freedom of the press. They often forget that the First Amendment also protects “the right of the people… to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” though it is an ancient and important privilege dating back to the Magna Carta in 1215. Writing for the majority in United Mine Workers of America v. Illinois State Bar Association,1 Justice Hugo Black began his analysis by describing the right to petition as “among the most precious liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights.” Indeed, the right of citizens to ask their government to solve a problem or correct an injustice is fundamental to the concept of representative government.
Of course, a petition derives significance from its response, but the response can take many forms and can evolve over time. Exercising the right to petition can highlight an issue and start a public conversation that can lead to a variety of outcomes not limited to legislation or regulation.
Members of Congress pay close attention to the concerns brought to their attention by their constituents. Many, if not most, offices keep tallies of emails, calls, letters, and meetings, sorted by issue and further broken down by those in favor and those against. This information is of the utmost interest to the members when they are deciding whether to vote for or against a particular bill, resolution, or nominee, but it also is an important avenue for bringing a new issue to the attention of the members, who may decide to investigate, conduct hearings, produce reports, write letters, make speeches, publish op-eds, and possibly originate legislation on that topic.
According to a survey of congressional staff,2 direct constituent contacts are by far the most influential. The act of traveling to Washington underscores the significance of the issue to the constituent, but traveling to Washington is not an option for most Americans. Virtual meetings have become normal and can be very effective, not to mention more efficient, for all parties. The most important aspect of any communication with a member of Congress or their staff—whether it’s in person, on Zoom, or by email—is putting the issue in a personal context. The second most important aspect is engaging in a dialogue. Eliciting questions or concerns and finding opportunities to follow up allow you to reinforce the points in your initial presentation.
Many of the thousands of bills filed each year are highly controversial and partisan, but the FBA does not wade into those policy debates. Since the FBA is nonpartisan, and its mission is to improve federal jurisprudence for all Americans, the role of its members in advocacy is essential, especially since not as many individuals and organizations often lobby on these issues. Armed with facts, your job is to demonstrate that the problem is real, it is significant enough to warrant congressional attention, and the solution you propose is the best. There were 17,812 measures introduced during the last Congress, but only 1,228 bills—7%—became law.3 Vigorously exercising your First Amendment right to petition is critical to, and is very effective in, elevating your issue to the top of the stack.
Our ArentFox Schiff colleague, retired North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan, tells a story that beautifully illustrates the power of grassroots advocacy:
If anyone ever wonders whether grassroots lobbying works, they should talk to Brenda Neubauer from Bismarck, North Dakota.
I was holding a town meeting one evening to hear from my constituents. The nearly 200 people at the meeting offered opinions on a lot of things that concerned them.
Toward the end of the meeting, a young woman near the back of the room stood up and said, “Mr. Senator, I am going to tell you a story about my son, and I’m going to tell you what I want you to do to help him.”
That woman was Brenda Neubauer. I didn’t know her, but I listened carefully to her story about her son, Jack. She told me that Jack had a hemophiliac blood disease. The medicine he was taking to manage this horrible disease cost $30,000 per month. She said she had a good health insurance plan that was paying for the medicine—until it stopped after reaching a lifetime limit of $1 million when he was 12 years old. She said she had no idea that her insurance policy had a lifetime limit of $1 million.
Then she described the danger to her son’s health if he could not get the medicine he needed.
“Senator Dorgan,” she said, “You need to fix this! You need to help my son and so many other Americans who have purchased health insurance and mistakenly believed they were fully insured.”
I left the town meeting that night thinking about this mother who was standing in a crowd talking about her son and his health. Frankly, I was surprised to learn that there were many health insurance policies that had limits that most policy holders were unaware of.
Following that meeting, Brenda Neubauer began showing up at nearly every event I was attending in my state, and she continued to tell the story about her son. I began to understand that there were many thousands of families like hers in our country who were having to file bankruptcy because their insurance policies were not covering the cost of treatment for their diseases.
I decided I would work to fix this issue. I met with Brenda and others, and I decided I was going to insist that new health care legislation the Congress was writing should eliminate the lifetime limits on health insurance policies. When the Affordable Care Act was finally enacted, it included a provision I added to eliminate the lifetime limits, and the cost of fixing this problem, spread over the costs of all policies, was insignificant. I was happy to have accomplished that, but I know the real reason it happened was because a mother stood up at a town hall meeting and asked for help with her problem. And she never quit until it was done.
About the Authors
Cissy Jackson served as counsel and national security adviser to Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala. before joining ArentFox Schiff. She also has extensive experience in the private practice of law, handling white collar, False Claims Act, grand jury investigation, and commercial property tax appeal matters. Jackson has represented multinational corporations, small businesses, and individuals in high-stakes civil and criminal litigation. Dan Renberg, a former senior Senate staff member and presidential appointee, has helped numerous clients since joining ArentFox Schiff as a partner in 2003. Recognized as a top federal lobbyist, one of Renberg’s advocacy efforts was included as one of the “Top 10 Lobbying Triumphs of 2009” by The Hill, and he has been listed annually since 2014 in The Best Lawyers in America.
About the FBA
Founded in 1920, the Federal Bar Association is dedicated to the advancement of the science of jurisprudence and to promoting the welfare, interests, education, and professional development of all attorneys involved in federal law. Our more than 16,000 members run the gamut of federal practice: attorneys practicing in small to large legal firms, attorneys in corporations and federal agencies, and members of the judiciary. The FBA is the catalyst for communication between the bar and the bench, as well as the private and public sectors. Visit us at fedbar.org to learn more.
