Capitol Hill Advocacy Day 2017

Everything you need to know for a successful day on Capitol Hill with NLC

Whether it’s your first-time visiting Capitol Hill, or your hundredth, thank you for being a city advocate. During NLC’s Capitol Hill Advocacy Day, the discussions you have with federal legislators and their staff will help us make a difference for cities everywhere.

Talking Points and Meeting Materials

Use the provided one-pager documents to assist you during your meetings. Be sure to leave a copy of your one-pagers with the staff you meet in each office.

• 2017 NLC Congressional One-Pager: Introduce your members of Congress to NLC using this one-pager.
• NLC Capitol Hill Advocacy Day Talking Points and Leave-Behind: Review this one-pager prior to your meetings to familiarize yourself with the priorities of cities nation-wide and give this to members of Congress and staff during your meetings.
• Report back on your meetings: Your meeting on Capitol Hill is only the beginning of the advocacy process. Following each meeting with your federal legislators, complete this form to let us know what was discussed.

Cities Lead Group Photo – March 15 at 8am – CANCELED

Before your meetings, join NLC and fellow city leaders to take a group photo. We will meet at the triangle where D Street, NW, Louisiana Avenue, NW, and North Capitol Street, NW intersect, in front of the reflecting pool in Lower Senate Park.

Share Your Experience

Be sure to take and share photos of your visits to Capitol Hill on social media! Use the #NLCDC hashtag and don’t forget to tag @leagueofcities and your legislators in your posts!

Luggage Storage at NLC

Checking out of your hotel before your day on Capitol Hill? Luggage storage is available from 7:30 am – 3:00 pm at NLC’s office, conveniently located just a few blocks walk from Capitol Hill on the Senate side, at 660 N. Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.

Getting to and around Capitol Hill

By Taxi/Uber/Lyft:

Just tell the driver the name of which congressional office building you want to visit, and he or she should be able to drop you off at the entrance.

By Metro:

Capitol Hill can also be reached by subway. To go to the Senate side, take the Red line to the Union Station stop and exit on the Massachusetts Ave. side. Walk out the front of Union Station, around the fountain, through the park to the Senate office buildings. To get to the House side, take the Blue, Orange or Silver line. Exit at Capitol South. The three House office buildings will be across the street, directly in front of you.

If you have questions, station attendants at each entrance can assist you.  You will need a SmarTrip card to enter and exit the system. You can buy a card at any Metro station. To save time, add enough money onto your SmarTrip for the round trip.

Navigating Capitol Hill

Security:

To enter any office building or the Capitol, including the Capitol Visitors Center, you will need to pass through security. Weapons, including pen knives, may not be brought into office buildings. To enter the Capitol or the Capitol Visitors Center, you additionally may not bring liquids, food or beverage, aerosols, or large bags into the building.

Please allow plenty of time to pass through security, as lines may become long.

Crossing the Hill:

If you need to cross the Hill to get from a House meeting to a Senate meeting, or vice versa, consider taking a cab. House and Senate office buildings are separated by approximately 0.5 mile.

Finding the Offices

If you don’t know the office number of your Senator or Representative, look for an elevator. Usually there is a listing of House or Senate offices posted nearby. Many have directional maps with room numbers.

House Office Buildings:

For House offices, you can tell the building and floor by the room number.

• Any three-digit room number: Cannon (CHOB), First St. and Independence Ave., SE, the first digit indicates the floor. Example: 327 CHOB is on the third floor of Cannon.
• Four digit rooms beginning with “1”: Longworth (LHOB), Independence and New Jersey Aves., SE, the second digit indicates the floor. Example: 1223 LHOB is on the second floor of Longworth.
• Four digit rooms beginning with “2”: Rayburn (RHOB), Independence Ave. and South Capitol St. SW, the second digit indicates the floor. Example: 2449 RHOB is on the fourth floor of Rayburn.
• Basement room numbers in Longworth and Rayburn begin with “B”.

Senate Office Buildings:

For Senate office buildings, you will need to know the building as well as the room number. In all buildings, the first digit indicates the floor.

• Dirksen (DSOB) First St. and Constitution Ave., NE. Three digit room numbers proceeded by “SD”. Example: SD 145 is on the first floor of Dirksen.
• Hart (HSOB) Second St. and Constitution Ave. NE. Three digit room numbers proceeded by “SH”. Example: SH 320 is on the third floor of Hart.
• Russell (RSOB) Delaware and Constitution Ave., NE. Three digit room numbers proceeded by “SR”. Example: SR 216 is on the second floor of Russell.

Lunch Options on Capitol Hill

House Side of the Capitol:

• Longworth Cafeteria: Longworth House Office Building, Basement – cafeteria style food and service, including pizza, hamburgers, cold salad bar, deli sandwiches and wraps, and a global food table. Large seating area.
• Cannon Carry Out: Cannon House Office Building, Basement – hamburgers, deli sandwiches; very limited seating.
• Rayburn House Cafeteria: Rayburn House Office Building, Basement – cafeteria style food, including salad bar (hot and cold), deli sandwiches and wraps.

Senate Side of the Capitol:

• Dirksen Cafeteria: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Basement – cafeteria style food and service, including pizza, hamburgers, cold salad bar, and deli sandwiches and wraps. Large seating area.
• Cups: Russell Senate Office Building, Basement – sandwiches and salad bar (hot and cold); very limited seating.
• Hart Senate Chef: Dirksen/Hart Senate Office Buildings Connecting Corridor, Ground floor – sandwiches; limited seating.

In the Capitol:

• Capitol Visitor Center: Contains two large cafeterias open to the public, featuring soups, salads, specialty entrées, pizzas, sandwiches, desserts, and beverages. Lower level of the CVC; large seating area.