Originally published on the CGS blog on March 29, 2011.
On Friday, the second day of Citizens for Global Solutions’ 2011 Conference, members took action and went to Capitol Hill to lobby their Congress people to protect funding for the United Nations and stand up against genocide by passing a comprehensive genocide prevention bill. The general feeling was that visits were successful, as the Congressional staffers were for the most part receptive and sympathetic to our cause. Some members found their Congress people whole heartedly supportive of our initiatives while others ran into cautious staff intent on avoiding commitments.
My personal experience was enhanced as I was able to lobby with CGS Board member Jordan Bankhead. Besides getting along well, Jordan and I proved to be a good team in our lobby visits, with the offices of my Senator, Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Jordan’s Senator, Roger Wicker (R-MS). It was the first time lobbying for both of us, as was the case with many who participated in lobby day. Lobbying is a little nerve wrecking the first time, but Jordan and I were able to communicate all of our points, answer the necessary questions, and have a pleasant conversation during our first visit with a staffer in Senator Menendez’s office. Senator Menendez is very good on most of our issues, so the meeting went well. The staffer did make clear that although Senator Menendez supports our issues, it is important that we keep telling him that he’s doing a good job and showing our support for his actions so that he keeps making the right decisions.
The second visit, with Senator Wicker’s office was not nearly as easy as the Menendez meeting. Senator Wicker is a Republican, and one of the points his staffer made was that most Mississippians want the UN defunded. She did, however, know that the foreign affairs budget is only 1% of the total current federal budget while most Americans think it is 25% and that the foreign affairs budget is essential for American interests and security, which was encouraging. However, we left the meeting with no guarantees and little hope that the Senator will vote the way we want him to. But we also left inspired to continue pursuing our goals in spite of or should I say because of the resistance we felt. We realized how important it is to educate people so that they know the facts of the United Nations and the foreign aid budget and can make educated, informed decisions. It was also quite comforting to know that, in the words of his staffer, Senator Wicker “is against genocide.”
In the afternoon, former Representative from Virginia, Tom Perriello, gave an impressive speech on the importance of engagement in the world, the responsibility to protect, the importance of the ICC, and the failures of our government and press in dealing with international relations issues.
Overall, lobby day was a great success, as everyone involved seemed energized by the advocacy they had taken part in, proud to have made their voices heard and fully aware of the work that still needs to be done.
