Congressional Meetings Recap
Last week, LAMA took advantage of the August recess and had four meetings with three different congressional offices. Keep reading to find out who we met with and what we talked about!
GCS HLN meeting with Sen. Mark Kelly's office
Monday 8/19 — Senator Mark Kelly’s Office
Last Monday, Solveig and Autumn, along with staff members from the ELCA Advocacy Office in Washington, DC, met with one of Senator Kelly’s senior staff members about the pending Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act. Our readers know that LAMA has been paying attention to this legislation all year, and Kelly has already introduced it to the Senate. During this meeting, we weren’t advocating for the Senator’s support, but were instead touching base about the bill’s future. We discussed…
The prospective timeline for the settlement agreement
Ways our offices can support the bill after August recess
How our DC office can garner support for the policy from lawmakers outside Arizona
Tuesday 8/20 — Senator Mark Kelly’s Office & the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network
On Tuesday, we had another chance to meet with Mark Kelly’s office. This time, the Hunger Leaders Network spoke to the staff members who oversee nutrition and agriculture food, and environmental protection for the Senator’s office. We discussed…
Our concerns and hopes for the Farm Bill once the Senate re-adjourn. We specifically called attention to the importance of the Thrifty Food Plan and advocated for this key component of the SNAP program preserved
Our ministries and work, including stories around the state
Our person commitment to ending hunger in Arizona and the government’s ability to aid us in this goal
Wednesday 8/21 — Representative Raúl Grijalva’s Office
On Wednesday morning, Solveig and Autumn met with the DC team to once again touch base about the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement. This time, we met with a staff member overseeing water and tribal issues for Representative Grijalva’s (D-07) office. Rep Grijalva is the ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, which is currently holding hearings on the water rights agreement. As the House has seen more discussion on this bill (HR8940), we wanted to check in with a lawmaker currently working to advance this bill. This was another meeting where we were not advocating for support, but instead checking in on strategy. We discussed…
The settlement’s predicted timeline in the House
The barriers facing this legislation
Ways Lutherans can support this policy
Which groups need to be educated on this policy before it can progress
When and how our DC office should mobilize support for this bill
Wednesday 8/21 — Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s Office
Later on Wednesday, Autumn and Solveig joined Policy Council Member Melanie Hobden in a meeting with one of Senator Sinema’s staff members to discuss a few areas of economic concern. We specifically sought to advocate for nutritional assistance programs on the Farm Bill. We discussed…
The work of the GCS HLN and the Lutheran church to fight hunger
The importance of nutritional assistance to the neighbors we minister to
Our hopes and concerns for the Farm Bill and advocated for protection of the Thrifty Food Plan
Ways our ministries can inform the Senator’s work moving forward
Even though LAMA did not meet directly with any of these law makers, we still got important work done! We advocated for our concerns, and learned more about the path forward. Hopefully, our office, and the lawmakers offices, will use these experiences once Congress is back from the August recess.
Thank you so much to all of the staff we got to speak with! We are so grateful for your time.
If you still haven’t met with your lawmakers, we encourage you to reach out to their offices and schedule a meeting!
