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Ventura County Goes to Washington

CCL National Conference and Lobby Day

June 10-13, Washington, D.C

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What Happens at the Conference?

An annual 3-day mobilization
Approx. 1000 volunteers from chapters in the U.S. and world
Meet, exchange ideas, listen to climate presentations
Form teams to lobby every Senator and House Representative

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What About the Lobby Day?

Each chapter liaison contacts MOC to schedule
Liaisons prepare meeting agenda with primary and secondary asks
Conference Day 3 → volunteer teams visit the Rayburn, Canon and Longworth office buildings
Meetings are in-person with MOC or legislative staff

express appreciation for MOC service, state purpose of political will for livable world, review asks and request support, devise follow up plan

Team regroups after meeting and chart next steps

So, what will happen on Lobby Day? Our chapter will be represented by members Faith Grant, Fran Lee, Alexandria Williams, and her father, Pierre Williams. This group of four will be joined by two additional CCL members to visit the DC office of Representative Julia Brownley.

The Chapter Liaisons and group leaders start working on a plan a few months in advance, typically when we know if one of our members will be able to go to DC. The chapter liaisons reach out to the office of the member of Congress to schedule a meeting and then prepare an agenda for the meeting highlighting primary and secondary asks, which we will cover later.

Day 3 of the conference is Lobby Day. Those volunteers attending the conference will form teams of between 4-6 people and go to the Representatives’ DC offices. Volunteers can participate in multiple teams, making visits to more than one Congressperson. The in-person aspect of meeting in DC really drives home the point that CCL has “boots on the ground”, aka knowledgeable volunteers that are passionate about meaningful climate legislation, and when we turn out en masse at a lobby event, it really makes an impact on the Hill.

Just like when we meet virtually, during this in-person meeting we will express our appreciation, add commentary on WHY it is important to take legislative action on climate change, present our asks and request the MOC support them by co-signing on these Bills, and discuss how we can take the information from the meeting to best promote legislation that voters in Ventura County can get behind.

We then come together after the meeting to share notes, observations, and plan next steps.

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Congress is divided into two components:

House of Representatives

435 Total Members

One Representative elected from each Congressional District

Serves a 2 year term → up for reelection every even year

Next election 2024

Senate

100 Total Senators

Two Senators elected from each state

Serves a 6 year term → elections are staggered over even years; only about 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection during any election

Next election 2024 (Sen. Feinstein will be retiring)

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Who Represents Us in Congress?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein and

Sen. Alex Padilla

Rep. Julia Brownley OR

Rep. Salud Carbajal

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Ventura County CCL lobbies in CA- District 26 →Rep Brownley

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Representative Julia Brownley

First elected to Congress in 2012

Democrat → Ventura County is “purple”

Click here to read more about Brownley, her legislation, voting record, etc.

Served on the Select Committee for the Climate Crisis 2019-2022

Also serves on House Committee for Veterans, and Transportation and Infrastructure

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Ventura County CCL + Rep Julia Brownley

We have been meeting with Rep Brownley office since the chapter was established
Excellent working relationship with her and the staff
Meetings in-person, in district, via Zoom, and on Capitol Hill
We usually meet with the Representative’s office at least three times (often more!) per year
Pro-climate but has not endorsed a carbon fee and dividend bill

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…and co-authored this report

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What are We Asking for this Lobby Day?

Primary → Permitting Reform

Allow transmission lines to be permitted and built much faster
Reduce the amount of time to complete environmental reviews for major energy projects
Ensure robust and early community engagement

Secondary → Energy Innovation and Caron Dividend Act

Reintroduce a steadily rising fee on carbon pollution that returns revenue to American households
Include a Cross Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) to protect U.S. competitiveness by imposing a fee on the carbon content of imported products from countries that do not have a carbon price

Additional asks: RISEE Act, Save our Sequoias Act, REAADI For Disasters Act

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What are the Next Steps?

Address issues MOC may have raised about proposed legislation/asks
Provide supporting data or polls
Meet with influencers in district who need to be on board with legislation
Highlight lobby meeting on Social Media
Write Letters to the Editor about meeting with MOC
Keep meeting with MOC staff in district and next year in D.C.

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Questions?

Please reach out to our co-liaisons

David Gilbertson dbgilly2@gmail.com

Fran Lee flee13726@gmail.com

Or our Group Leaders

Adrian Conway adrian.conway.19@gmail.com

Faith Grant faithagrant@aol.com