Staff Members: A Key to Effective Advocacy
Congressional staff members who assist senators, representatives, or other elected officials are critical to the day-to-day operation of the government. These individuals are most likely to communicate with constituents. It is useful to know the commonly used titles and principal functions of congressional staff members. The best way to access a staff member as a link to your senators and representative is to send an e-mail message to scheduler@name.senate.gov. For example, scheduler@hutchison.senate.gov.
Examples of key congressional staff positions include:
- Legislative Director, Senior Legislative Assistant, or Legislative Coordinator: The legislative director is usually the staff person who monitors the legislative schedule and makes recommendations regarding the pros and cons of particular issues. In some congressional offices there are several legislative assistants and responsibilities are assigned to staff with particular expertise in specific areas. For example, depending on the responsibilities and interests of the member, an office may include a different legislative assistant for each issue such as health, taxes, environmental matters, etc.
- Press Secretary or Communications Director: The press secretary’s responsibility is to build and maintain open and effective communication between the member, his/her constituency, and the general public. The press secretary is expected to know the benefits, demands, and special requirements of both print and electronic media and how to most effectively promote the member’s view or position on specific issues.
- Appointment Secretary, Personal Secretary, or Scheduler: The appointment secretary is usually responsible for allocating a member’s time among the many demands that arise from congressional responsibilities, staff requirements, and constituent requests. This person may also be responsible for making arrangements for travel, speaking dates, and visits to the district.
- Caseworker: The caseworker is the staff member usually assigned to help with constituent requests by preparing replies for the member’s signature. The caseworker’s responsibilities may also include helping to resolve problems constituents present in relation to federal agencies, e.g. Social Security, and Medicare issues, veteran’s benefits, passports, etc. There are often several caseworkers in a congressional office.
- Legislative Correspondents: A legislative correspondent organizes and processes most of the communications received by a congressional office.
- Other Staff Titles: Other titles used in a congressional office may include executive assistant, legislative correspondent, executive secretary, and office manager.