When meeting with staff members on the Hill, it is extremely important to have a thorough knowledge of your Representative and Senators and their interests and the district or state they represent, and a broad knowledge of their legislative history---this will enable you to craft your discussions toward the interests of the office and offer more convincing and persuasive arguments.

Resources to research your Members

House.gov: House of Representative listing by state. Each listing includes a link to the Members’ individual pages. Take time to look at these pages, read your Representative’s biography, and brush up on the district.

Senate.gov: An alphabetical listing of the Senators. Again, each Senator’s name is linked to their individual web pages. Read the Senators’ biographies and other relevant information on the site.

VoteSmart.org: This site allows you to search congressional voting records by either name or issue. It will allow you to view the voting history of the each Member, recent speeches given by the Member, and their various external ratings.

International Interests of Congressional Members: Compiled by the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV), these spreadsheets (one for Senators, one for Representatives) detail Members' international interests, international travel, and international education, where applicable.

What committees are they on?

Committee assignments typically reflect the interests of a member. Of most interest to the international exchange community are the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations, and the House Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations. However, make sure to note your Members' committee assignments beyond these four—this knowledge may help you to tailor your discussion of exchanges towards a Member's specific interests.