Advocacy toolkit

Welcome to The American Legion’s Hill Visit Toolkit. This page is dedicated to providing American Legion Family members with current, easy-to-use tools for participating in grassroots advocacy. Below are resources for Legion Family members to assist in becoming effective grassroots advocates.

The American Legion is a grassroots organization at its core. As such, the support of members is critical as we advocate on behalf of all veterans in the halls of Congress. The most effective way to support The American Legion’s legislative agenda is communication – by individuals in their local posts expressing their views on specific bills. Emails, telephone calls, Legislative Alerts and personal letters from constituents have a powerful influence on members of Congress. They want to hear from you so they can gauge public opinion on specific issues.

Resources

• 2024 Legislative Agenda for the 118th Congress, 2nd Session
• Legislative Point Papers
• Congressional Contact Report Form
• 2024 Know Before You Go video

National Security Fact Sheets

• Afghan Allies
• Border Security
• Military Quality of Life
• Veteran role in military support 

 Legislation

• Caregivers and Survivors
• Suicide prevention and peer support
• Safeguarding veteran benefits
• Electronic Health Record Modernization 
• Polytrauma

Tools For Legionnaires

Find Your Congressional Representatives

You can find your elected representatives at our Grassroots Action Center. This can be found in the bottom right corner of the page.

Contact Your Congressional Representatives

You can contact your representative through our campaigns located on our Grassroots Action Center. Be sure to share The American Legion’s legislative priorities using the Legislative Agenda when you contact their office. While on the Grassroots Action Center page, be sure to sign up for our legislative alerts so you can stay up to date on all of The American Legion’s legislative campaigns.

You can also contact your representative in a variety of ways including in-person meetings, virtual meetings, phone calls, emails and through social media.

Afterward, you can fill out a congressional contact report form after you contact your congressional office. This will allow the national Legislative staff to know that the meeting took place and make staff members aware of any follow-up actions to take with the representative or their staff.

Tools for Legislative Council Members

All members of the Legislative Council are expected to contact their assigned representatives. Congress is open to in-person meetings and you can also use a number of digital platforms. Below are the three methods listed in order of effectiveness. The preferred method is to schedule a meeting or phone call.

Methods to Contact Your Assigned Representative

1. Schedule a meeting 
Congress is now open to visitors, meaning legislators and their staff may now physically meet with people. A 15- to 30-minute meeting with your legislator’s office will give you an opportunity to delve into a deeper conversation about the Legion’s Legislative Agenda.

2. Call your legislator 
You may also call your representative’s office and ask to speak with the staffer who handles the veteran and/or military portfolio. You can also ask for an email address if a phone number is not provided.

3. Send an email
Congressional staff are closely monitoring office emails and will note the issues most prevalent in their district.

What You Should Speak About

Review The American Legion’s legislative priorities using the Legislative Agenda and the point papers. This will give you a clear understanding of the issues and The American Legion’s recommended solutions to the problem.

After the Meeting

Please be sure to fill out a congressional contact report form after you contact your congressional office. This will allow the national Legislative staff to know that the meeting took place and make staff members aware of any follow-up actions to take with the representative or their staff.