July 15

Today was Day One of Lobby Day. Jos and I had four appointments and were called in to help on a fifth.

The day started with a breakfast in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It was a hot breakfast buffet and the Senator from Wyoming -- I don't remember his name -- spoke. It was inspiring. He told stories that were straight from the RESULTS teachings on using stories effectively.

The it was into a cab and off to the House Offices side of the Hill. Our first appointment was at 11, in Congressman Loebsack's office. He had been called out to a meeting, so we met with his Legislative Aide, Megan Linn. I started out the meeting by asking her to thank the Congressman for coming to Cedar Rapids during the flood and for serving meals for the Red Cross over the 4th of July. She seemed genuinely grateful for the acknowledgement. I talked about the need to reform the way the US delivers foreign aid -- purchasing food in the US and shipping it on US vessels. It costs twice as much to purchase the food here versus purchasing food overseas. House Resolution 1268 would change the rules for USAID. She seemed interested and took the fact sheet on it. I will follow up with Kara Marchione (who we had requested be in the meeting but wasn't) as she is the foreign aid aide. Jos talked about the possibility of the Congressman being a leader on health care reform. That's one of the first things he had done when coming to Washington was sign on to cosponser HR 676, a Medicare for All bill. Jos is going to follow up on that issue.

Then it was off to the Rayburn building for lunch and strategizing with other RESULTS members.

Our second meeting was with Jos' Congressman, Leonard Boswell at 1. He had just had surgery and wasn't back in the office yet so we met with his aide. I said I had heard the Congressman had a successful surgery and she perked up, telling us he was sick of being in bed and wanting to get back to work. I did the same ask on House Resolution 1268 and Jos did healthcare reform and the child tax credit. It was a good meeting.

Then back to the Rayburn Building for a 1:45 with the Des Moines group leader's Congressman, a conservative Republican, Tom Latham. When I said I was concerned that US aid dollars weren't going far enough, he perked up. But he wasn't interested in HR 1268. Said the trade unions and ag interests would argue against it. But he was kind about the way he said it. He turned Jos down on every domestic thing he brought up. We just couldn't find any common ground with Latham. But the meeting was cordial nonetheless.

Then back into a cab and over to the Hart Senate Office Building. The Senate was voting on PEPFAR amendments this afternoon and we got to watch part of the debate on the TV in Grassley's office. At three we were ushered into his office and told he had been called to a meeting in Finance but we had three of his top aides in the room. I asked the aides to thank Grassley for coming to Cedar Rapids during the flood, and they were so kind, wanting to know if I had been affected. I had permission to tell my niece's story, so I did. They were concerned about FEMA getting to Cedar Rapids quickly and told me a delegation from Cedar Rapids had been there earlier in the afternoon to talk about tax credits. I told them we needed federal dollars for a buy-out in the 100-year flood plain. And then we got down to business.

Jos talked about healthcare reform, and Grassley's health aide explained his position, which is a "let the private sector fix it" solution. They were interested in the child tax credit minimum being set at $8500, as in the House. Grassley being the watchdog that he is, Jos and I thought asking him to see that USAID funds for microcredit be spent according to the 2004 mandate, which is 50 percent of the funds going to the very poor. I told the story of Muhammed Yunus being asked what the first thing a woman does with the proceeds from a microcredit loan. You might think it would be to put her children in school or feed her family better. No, the first thing a woman does is to bring her children home. The very poor who can't afford to feed their children will sell them into child labor for a handful of rice. So when she has money, the first thing she does is to buy her children back. And Congress has the right to oversee how USAID spends microfinance dollars, and can enforce the 2004 mandate that 50 percent go to the very poor.

Then it was time to come back and fill out paperwork. Since we did both global and domestic lobbying we had to fill out paperwork on both sets of issues. Jos was smart enough to have the forms with him and fill them out during the day. I had that job once I got back.

I called my mother tonight when I got back and told her I understood the value of coming to Washington. It's one thing to see a member of Congress in their home office, but when you come to their turf to lobby, it's the next step up in building that relationship. So I'm coming back next year, God willing.

Going to do a couple of things differently next year, though.