The heat will be on Members of Congress during the month of August as members of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) meet with their elected representatives at home in their districts.

For the fifth year in a row, PIA has designed the entire month of August – when Members of Congress are back home – as a time for intensive lobbying of House and Senate members. Dubbed “Capitol Hill in Your Backyard,” the month-long effort has as its focal point PIA District Lobbying Day on August 17.

“Everybody knows that Members of Congress escape from Washington, D.C. every August and go back to their districts,” said PIA National President Jon D. Spalding. “But there is no escaping the concerns of professional insurance agents across America. We’re keeping the heat on Congress by demonstrating to our lawmakers that PIA members – their constituents – are politically aware, active and involved.”

PIA’s designation of August 17 as PIA District Lobbying Day and the entire month of August as Political Involvement and Advocacy Month extends the reach of the association’s federal lobbying efforts. Each spring, professional insurance agents visit Capitol Hill for meetings with their elected representatives during PIA’s annual Federal Legislative Summit, during which agents concentrate their efforts on the primary issues of focus for the members of the association. And throughout the year, PIA members participate in online grassroots campaigns keyed to the association’s legislative positions.

“The conventional wisdom is that nothing happens in Congress during the month of August, but that’s wrong,” said PIA Executive Vice President & CEO Len Brevik. “Members of Congress are holding town hall meetings and other events in their districts, to gauge how their constituents feel about legislation. And this year, most of them are also running for re-election. Far from being ‘dead time,’ the month of August is prime time for Main Street insurance agents to advance their agenda in a very effective way.”

There’s Still Time to Get Involved! If you can’t schedule a meeting during August, please send your member of Congress a pre-written, fully editable letter available here. Letters on PIA’s major issues are all there.

Click here for more information on how to get involved and bring Capitol Hill to Your Backyard this August.

PIA Keeps the Heat On Congress  (PIA 8/5/10)

August 18, 2010