LEGISLATIVE

2007 Legislative Report

WASCOE Convention 4-21-07

I was not fully aware of the fact that by virtue of becoming Vice President, I also assumed the role of Legislative Chair. Tom quickly and happily bestowed this honor on me, but I am happy that he did. I had attended 4 legislative conferences prior to becoming the Chair person and had good working knowledge of how to set up appointments and what needed to be done.  We had 10 legislators to visit in early March.  Jon William, Tom Oasen, John Baird and myself, armed with position papers and very positive attitudes climbed the Hill and spoke with our legislators on your behalf.  Attached are the position papers we reviewed. NASCOE’s approach is to keep the position papers to a minimum and have ALL NASCOE members delivering the same basic message to ALL legislators.  This has proven to be the most effective means to get the NASCOE message to Congress.

A reception was held in the evening on Tuesday, March 6, for key legislative contacts (ag committees and appropriations).  NASCOE felt this was a very successful way to reinforce the position papers and get some good, open discussion started with the legislators.  Unfortunately, none of the WI legislators or aides could attend this function.

Some members have asked if it really pays to personally meet with our legislators considering the cost of a Legislative Conference can be expensive.  My answer would have been, not really, until I actually had the opportunity to be involved in a conference. Now my answer is an unequivocal YES!  You have to build a relationship with the legislators and more often, their aides.  The aides are the ones who are informed of all the topics that the legislators vote on and when it comes time for a vote, the congressperson consults with the aid to determine how they should vote. After meeting with the aides 2 and 3 times, they know who you are and what you do. They will also be more likely to drop you a line if an issue comes up that the legislator might want clarified. Is it the best use of our limited funds? My answer would be: do you want to keep getting a paycheck?  That’s what it comes down to. If we do not continue to keep congress educated of the situations in FSA, we as employees, have NO other representation. Ask NRCS about this. They have no one to fight for them and I have been told more than once by a NRCS employee how lucky we are to have NASCOE on our side.  We should share that with all the non-members!!!!!

Attending a Legislative Conference is an experience that you will never forget and I encourage anyone who would like to participate to let me know. You develop an appreciation for our NASCOE Officers and Legislative Chairpersons immediately when you realize how truly hard they work for all of us.  At this time, the next legislative conference would be in 2009, unless the NASCOE Executive Board decides one is needed before then.

If you have any questions regarding the Position Papers or any legislative item, please be sure to contact me or Tom.

Respectfully Submitted,

Deb Esselman-Baird

WASCOE Legislative Chairperson