How the Drug Provision will be Repealed

The drug provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA) was born in the House Education Committee, and with your help, this is where it will die. There are 49 members on this committee, so when a new repeal vote comes up, we need to have a majority of these members voting with us.

The first and only attempted repeal vote happened on May 26, 2000. At the time, there were not enough concerned citizens like you working to shift key votes in our direction. Although we lost by 30-16, this committee vote is considered close by Washington standards, and it is not reflective of how the general public will feel about this new law once it becomes fully aware of it.

Now that we have a list of members who voted for and against us, we can target our message more effectively. Please find out which member of Congress represents your school and home district by clicking here: http://www.house.gov/writerep/.

Then check this list of House Education and Workforce Committee members to see if your school or home representative is a member, and if so, how he/she voted in May. Remember: most of you will not have a representative on this committee. Regardless, your campus efforts and the relationships you build with your representatives still impacts the legislative outcome by raising the national awareness of the drug provision. Further, you will be shifting public opinion, and this will influence votes within the committee.

While we will be working with our allies in Congress here in Washington, D.C., our efforts can only be effective if your congressional representatives hear directly from you, their constituents. What we have to say in D.C. makes no difference to your representatives, because we don't vote for them, only you do!

We strongly encourage you to get in touch with us before and after visiting your congressperson. We are here to guide you through this political process, and knowing your progress will help our lobbying effort on the Hill. We look forward to working with you.

If your Representative is not on the committee,
here's what you can do to help:

Ask your representative to become a cosponsor of H.R. 685, Barney Frank's (D-MA) bill to repeal the drug provision. If you representative is not yet aware of the HEA drug provision, this is a perfect opportunity to educate and get him/her involved.

Before meeting with your representative it is a good idea to gather the support of your campus. This involves having your student government pass the resolution calling for the repeal of the drug provision, presenting your views to administrators and educators, and building coalitions with other campus groups and organizations within your community (see Coalition for HEA Reform). Keep the local media, including your student newspaper, well informed of your efforts to build HEA awareness on your campus. While your congressperson may be in Washington, D.C., your representative and their staff read local papers to keep in touch with their constituency.

Once you have gathered support for the resolution and organized a core group, you are ready to set up an appointment with your congressperson. Call the local office of your representative and ask for the Appointment Secretary/Scheduler. Explain the purpose of the meeting and who you represent (Coalition for HEA Reform, SSDP, etc.). It will be easier for the staff to arrange a meeting if they know what we want to discuss and how our concern is relevant to the representative. Finally, let the staffer know how many people you plan to bring along -- you don't want to surprise them.

Before you sit down with the representative or staffer, make sure you know your stuff. Make sure you state your key points (three is enough), and be prepared to answer the tough questions from a potentially probing representative or staffer. But if you do not know the answer to a particular question, it's perfectly acceptable to say, "I don't know, but I can get you that information as soon as possible."

If the representative is supportive, ask for a verbal commitment to support a repeal of the HEA drug provision. You may want to follow up by inviting your representative to your school to speak about the issue. This would be a great opportunity for you to put together an event on campus and generate continuing student involvement in HEA reform.

If the representative or their assistant does not seem supportive, do not argue. Instead, politely summarize your key points, hand over your materials, and tell them you look forward to working together in the future.

Lastly, be sure to write a prompt thank-you letter to your representative. Be sure to mention the points that were discussed with the staffer and what you hope will come of your meeting (cosponsorship of Barney Frank's repeal bill).

We strongly encourage you to get in touch with us before and after visiting your congressperson. We are here to guide you through this political process, and knowing your progress will help our lobbying effort on the Hill. We look forward to working with you.

If your Representative voted with us,
here's what you can do to help:

Don't make the mistake of taking your representative's last good vote for granted. Ensure his/her future support by gathering support on your campus. This involves having your student government pass the resolution calling for the repeal of the drug provision, presenting your views to administrators and educators, and building coalitions with other campus groups and organizations within the community. Keep the local media, including your student newspaper, well informed of your efforts to build HEA awareness on your campus. While your congressperson may be in Washington, D.C., your representative and their staff read local papers to keep in touch with their constituency.

Once you have gathered support for the resolution, organized a core group, and attracted some local media coverage, you are ready to set up an appointment with your congressperson. Call the local office of your representative and ask for the Appointment Secretary/Scheduler. Explain the purpose of the meeting and who you represent (Coalition for HEA Reform, SSDP, etc.). It will be easier for the staff to arrange a meeting if they know what we want to discuss and how our concern is relevant to the representative. Finally, let the staffer know how many people you plan to bring along—you don't want to surprise them.

Your representative will be very pleased to meet with a group that is giving them thanks. They will remember this, and you will be ensuring future support. Show copies of your media coverage, and bring a list of the support that you've achieved.

Make sure when you sit down with your representative or the staffer, remind them why their last vote was the right vote, and that you will be looking forward to his/her continued support the next time a vote comes up. If your representative is not yet a cosponsor of H.R. 685, ask if he/she would become one.

You also may want to invite your representative to your school to speak about the issue. This would be a great opportunity for you to put together an event on campus and generate continuing student involvement in HEA reform.

Lastly, be sure to write a prompt thank-you letter to your representative. Be sure to mention the points that were discussed with the staffer and what you hope will come of your meeting (continued support of a repeal bill).

We strongly encourage you to get in touch with us before and after visiting your congressperson. We are here to guide you through this political process, and knowing your progress will help our lobbying effort on the Hill. We look forward to working with you.

If your Representative voted against us,
or if your Representative is new to the
Committee, here's what you can do to help:

If you are someone who would like to work for social justice, you are now in a position to make a big difference! Your district is a major battleground in the effort to repeal the HEA drug provision. The outcome of the action in your district is a key to our ultimate success.

Your first step is to gather support on your campus. Have your student government pass the resolution calling for the repeal of the drug provision, present your views to administrators and educators, and build coalitions with other campus groups and other organizations within the community (see Coalition for HEA Reform). For your convenience, we have already assembled the names, numbers, and e-mails of hundreds of potential contacts in key districts including yours, and we want to share it with you to make your job easier. So please get in touch with us today.

Keep the local media, including your student newspaper, well informed of your efforts. While your congressperson may be in Washington, D.C., your representative and their staff read local papers to keep in touch with their constituency.

Once you have gathered support for the resolution and organized a core group, you are ready to meet with your representative. Call the local office of your representative and ask for the Appointment Secretary/Scheduler. Explain the purpose of the meeting and who you represent (Coalition for HEA Reform, SSDP, etc.). It will be easier for the staff to arrange a meeting if they know what we want to discuss and how our concern is relevant to the representative. Finally, let the staffer know how many people you plan to bring along—you don't want to surprise them.

Before you sit down with the representative or staffer, make sure you know your stuff. Make sure you state your key points (three is enough), and be prepared to answer the tough questions from a potentially probing representative or staffer. But if you do not know the answer to a particular question, it's perfectly acceptable to say, "I don't know, but I can get you that information as soon as possible.”

Be firm but fair when making your key points. Speak as if your representative was not fully aware of the implications of their last vote (if he or she was a committee member at that time). Explain that the students believe the law to be discriminatory and counterproductive. Show them your list of media coverage and supporters, and tell them you would like their support the next time a vote comes up. But the most important message you need to convey is this: The students and those concerned about educational issues are aware of how you voted in the past and are closely watching your vote in the near future; our vote for you depends on your vote for us.

If the representative is supportive, ask for a verbal commitment to support a repeal of the HEA drug provision. You may want to follow up by inviting your representative to your school to speak about the issue. This would be a great opportunity for you to put together an event on campus and generate continuing student involvement in HEA reform.

If the representative or their assistant does not seem supportive, do not argue. Instead, politely summarize your points, hand over your materials, and tell them you look forward to working together in the future.

Lastly, be sure to write a prompt thank-you letter to your representative. Be sure to mention the points that were discussed with the staffer and what you hope will come of your meeting (a vote supporting a repeal bill).

I'm confident you have the talent and motivation to organize the power needed to shift your representative's vote in our direction. The last congressional vote was close, so one more vote going in the right direction could easily be the one that makes repeal a reality.

We strongly encourage you to get in touch with us before and after visiting your congressperson. We are here to guide you through this political process, and knowing your progress will help our lobbying effort on the Hill. We look forward to working with you.