Get to know your Member of Congress — Let them know you care about the Mississippi River!
Claudia Emken is the Policy Manager for the Mississippi River Network. As a River Citizen in southern Illinois, she had the opportunity to visit her representative in Congress and shares her experience here:
Have you met your representative in Congress? Does the idea of such a meeting make you nervous? Well, it really is easy, and we encourage you to do it! Members of Congress know they work for you—yes, it is your vote that got them into office. So they want to hear from you and learn about issues that are important to their constituents.
Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with my Congressional representative, Rep. Cheri Bustos, in her district office in Rock Island, IL. As a fellow constituent and the Regional Conservation Coordinator for the Izaak Walton League of America, Olivia Dorothy accompanied me on my visit. I checked the Congresswoman’s website (find your Member’s website here and here) and emailed a request for a meeting when she would be in her district. I received an email confirmation they had received my request, then a week or so later got an email saying she would be available at noon on Saturday, a couple days away. Because our Members of Congress represent large districts, sometimes you have to meet at their convenience, not yours! In fact, did you know that every Member of Congress represents the same number of people—no matter how large the state—about 693,000?
Congresswomen Cheri Bustos, the first Congressional River Citizen
We spent about 30 minutes with Rep. Bustos. After offering us some Girl Scout cookies and coffee, she asked us about our backgrounds. We shared some information about the 1 Mississippi campaign to enlist River Citizens to support the River. After handing her a brochure, she immediately filled it out and pledged to work with us to help identify legislative initiatives to help the River! She sits on the House Agriculture and the Transportation Committees, so there will be many opportunities. She encouraged us to stay in touch with her offices in Rock Island and Washington, D.C., to keep her informed on River-related issues—and we intend to do that. We will also be sure to invite her to River-related events in her district, which runs along the Mississippi River from the Wisconsin border to just south of (and across the river from) Burlington, IA.
Perhaps you, too, could meet with your Member of Congress and let them know how important the River is to you? If you meet with your Member of Congress, whether in their district office, in Washington, D.C., or at a River-related event, let us know how it went! It’s a great opportunity to speak up for the River, and we know you won’t regret it.