A DAY ON THE HILL: FROM IDEA TO ACTION
I'm just a bill/Yes, I'm only a bill And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill Well, it's a long, long journey To the capital city It's a long, long wait While I'm sitting in committee But I know I'll be a law someday At least I hope and pray that I will But today I am still just a bill. --SchoolHouse Rock, 1970 I went on my first "hill visit" last month. I was very excited about educating our congressman on the challenges nonprofits face. I didn't know how naive I was until I sat in his office. First, although we had an appointment, we were greeted by an "aide" with a notepad. No actual congressman face time. Second, there was no spark of interest until we described (in detail) what work we were doing in HIS district. So what about city-wide services, just tell me about mine!; Third, the aide did not write anything on the notepad (although she held her pen at the ready) UNTIL we mentioned a specific piece of legislation ...