NNA Legislative Day

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Thank you for participating in this year’s Legislative Day. You'll be joining over 130 of your peers from across the country to make the case that Home Matters!

We have our work cut out for us. NNA's success in the past was due to members on both sides of the aisle respecting your work locally, but with calls for decreased spending, we need to make sure that those same members you have cultivated over the years understand how you leverage federal funding and create jobs and continue to impact their local communities.

Agenda

8:30-9:30AM -- Briefing and Prepping Breakfast, Doubletree Hotel, Arlington, VA
10:30-4:30PM -- Capitol Hill Visits (Morning: House; Afternoon: Senate)
5:00PM -- Capitol Hill Reception - Location: Senate Hart Building, Room 902

Invited Speakers: HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan; Senators Leahy (D-VT), Murray (D-WA), Collins (R-ME), Corker (R-TN), Blunt (R-MO), and Representatives Price (D-NC), LaTourette (R-OH), and Olver (D-MA).

Click here for detailed agenda.

Advocacy Priorities and Talking Points

The NNA External Policy Committee and NNA Board held several discussions to determine 2012 priorities and specific Legislative Day priorities. Through extensive discussions with Capitol Hill, and given the recent poor allocations to housing and community development overall, NNA's first priority will be to push for more agency- allocation funding to housing and community development programs. In others words, pushing legislators for a better/bigger share of total discretionary funding pot and making housing and community development a higher priority for federal spending. Better overall-funding allocations are the only way housing and community development programs (of any kind) can receive better program-level funding levels.

Our second NNA Legislative Day priority will be the NeigborWorks America core appropriation. This year, the President has requested less for NeighborWorks America's core appropriation - the first decrease in several years (6% from enacted FY 2012). We must push to restore that critical core funding.

Finally, given the extent of cuts to almost all programs in past years, instead of specifying a third priority, NNA leaves that decision to you and your local needs: what is your next most important funding source?

Priority #1 - Home Matters

Encourage your members to pro-actively push for higher Transportation-HUD/Rural appropriations allocations in FY 2013 and beyond. Click here for marketing piece on why Home Matters.

Priority #2 - NeighborWorks America FY 2013 Appropriation

FY 2013 Funding: Push for FY 2012 enacted "core" funding level: $135.3 million. Click here for Senate Dear Colleague.

Priority #3 - Next Most Important Funding Source (e.g. Rural, NFMC, CDFI, CDBG, HUD Counseling, etc.)

FY 2013 Funding: Push for President's FY 2013 request or FY 2012 enacted funding, whichever is greater. See Budget Chart for list of federal programs.

Talking Points:

Click here for Talking Points on all three priorities. Click here for a Q&A on how to lobby.

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Packets

NNA will have Legislative Day packets available for pick-up at the Doubletree (EDS hotel) on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning at the briefing breakfast. Included in the packets will be all relevant and necessary information for your visits. Items will include: Home Matters Fact Sheet, NWA Fact Sheets, Talking Points Summary, Map of Capitol Hill, and other. Please make sure to bring local information about your organization to include in the packet (tailored to NNA priorities/talking points -- see above). One side of folder will be for "national" information, the other side for "local" information.

National Fact Sheets Included in Packets
Home Matters Handout - large file, may take several minutes to open/view
NWA Graphic Fact Sheet 2012
NWA Homeownership Fact Sheet 2012
NWA Real Estate Fact Sheet 2012
NFMC Program Fact Sheet 2012
NWA Basics Fact Sheet 2012
NWA Power of Investment Fact Sheet
NWA Rural Programs Fact Sheet

NNA Priorities Fact Sheets Included in Packets
State Impact One Pager 2011 and 2007-2011 (very important)
Production/Leverage/Jobs Impact Data Sheet Details by NWO 2011 (by state)
Production/Leverage/Jobs Impact Data Sheet 2007-2011 by NWO (by state)(Return to top)

NNA Day Preparation Conference Calls

In order to make sure you are well-prepared for your congressional visits, NNA will be hosting two conference calls to review the Day’s agenda, lobbying 101, talking points, and other logistical information.  Please sign-up for one of the two calls below.

Wednesday, March 7th, 3:00PM EST:  Click here to RSVP for this call.
Friday, March 9th, 3:00PM EST:  Click here to RSVP for this call.

Call-in information and materials will be sent prior to these calls for all those that RSVP.

Not able to attend either call? Click below for the presentation:
NNA 2012 Legislative Day Preparation and Talking Points

Setting Up Appointments

House of Representatives (morning):  Please schedule your own House appointments.  Constituents get a much quicker response to appointment requests than DC-based advocates.  Call your Representative’s office (click here to look up), and ask to make an appointment to see the housing staffer the morning of March 20th.  Some offices require a faxed appointment request.  Click here for that template.  Please try to schedule your House appointments for the morning (10:30AM – 1:00PM).  

Note! After you have made your House appointments, please click here to send NNA an email with your confirmed House appointments -- that way NNA can coordinate your Senate visits and not conflict.

Senate (afternoon):  NNA will help schedule these appointments for the afternoon of March 20th (1:00PM -4:00PM).  This year we request that you meet with your Senators in the afternoon (since our evening reception is on the Senate side). As soon as NNA collects House appointment times, we will begin to schedule Senate visits.

Interested in having a Capitol Hill veteran NWO/peer go with you on your visits? Click here.(Return to top)