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Home> About Us> What We Believe> Position Statements >Position Statement 61: Division and Chapter Participation in National Legislative Activity

Position Statement 61: Division and Chapter Participation in National Legislative Activity

 

This directive describes the roles of Divisions and Chapters in helping carry out the National legislative program.

General Responsibilities

A major ongoing function of Mental Health Association at all three levels is to secure the passage of legislation and fund appropriate services and research to benefit persons with mental illnesses.  Responsibility for achieving legislative goals at the federal government level is shared by all three levels of Mental Health America -- National, Division and Chapter.

National is primarily responsible for initiating legislative proposals, monitoring legislation proposed by others and of concern to Mental Health America, presenting Mental Health America views to federal agencies and congressional committees and coordinating Mental Health America-wide efforts to obtain passage of (or defeat) proposed legislation.

Divisions and Chapters are responsible for alerting National to legislative needs they perceive, participating in the various processes for setting National legislative priorities and lobbying at the grass-roots level for enactment of proposed legislation.  The division of responsibility between a Division and its Chapters will vary from state to state.

Program Development

Divisions and Chapters share in shaping National legislative priorities through a variety of channels, including:

• Input to the National planning process
• The voice and vote of Division and Chapter delegates to the Mental Health America Annual Meeting of the Membership
• Submission of resolutions for consideration by the Membership at the Annual Meeting
• Direct contact with the National Chair of the Public Policy Committee or with members of the Committee or National government affairs staff.

Lobbying

Once the legislative program has been determined, Divisions and Chapters join with National in trying to get it through Congress and approved by the President.  Divisions and Chapters lobby their United States senators and representatives in support of specific legislation.  In addition to direct lobbying, indirect lobbying through publicizing the proposals in the media and otherwise can be highly productive.

It is the responsibility of National to provide Divisions and Chapters with the information they need and to advise them when contacts should be made and what points should be stressed.  It cannot be emphasized too strongly that effective lobbying by Divisions and Chapters at the

grass-roots level all across the United States is tremendously powerful.  Few if any mental health legislative proposals can pass Congress without it.

Report Back

It is very helpful to National in plotting strategy to know about contacts between Mental Health America volunteers and staff and members of Congress, their staffs, and congressional committee staffs.  An essential part of Division and Chapter responsibility is seeing that the essence of any contact is promptly reported to National.  "Contacts" include correspondence and phone calls as well as face-to-face visits.

Legislative Network

In addition to lobbying under their own name, Divisions and Chapters assist through recruiting legislative network volunteers.  These are persons who, whether or not affiliated with Mental Health America, have ready access to a senator or representative and are willing to contact him or her when requested by National.  Once the "networkers" have been recruited, further contacts come directly from National.

The National legislative network is a supplement to --not a substitute for-- lobbying by Divisions and Chapters under their own name.

Disagreement

In the unlikely, yet possible, event that a Division or Chapter finds it cannot subscribe to a National legislative proposal, it should notify National and request reconsideration of the proposal.  If National does not subsequently alter its position and the Division or Chapter still feels that it cannot in good conscience support the proposal, it has the option of simply withholding its support.

A Division or Chapter does not, however, have the option of publicly voicing its opposition to a National legislative proposal or otherwise working to defeat it.  Similarly, a Division or Chapter is not at liberty to initiate federal legislative proposals on its own without informing National, or to support any legislative proposals other than those, which are a part of the national legislative proposal.

Nothing in this directive is intended to discourage Divisions or Chapters from seeking the assistance of their senators, representatives or other federal officials in matters of purely state or local concern.

 

Page last updated: 09/21/2007