Health is inherently political.
Bills are created. Legislators discuss issues and ideas presented. And for a small percentage of those bills, policies are made that create regulations.
If you’re feeling the nostalgia of “I’m just a bill” – you’re not alone.
I have flashbacks to my 10th grade civics and economics class where the teacher tried to get us to care, and he played that video. I don’t remember a lot, but I remember that song. In the past seven years, I’ve watched that video in almost every political science, government or public health class I’ve taken. I also used it in a presentation I gave on legislative outreach too.
Across the country, hundreds of bills are being discussed on a variety of health topics like abortion access, healthcare and Medicaid access, food insecurity, housing, same-sex marriage. And so many more.
It’s normal that these topics bring up hard conversations, pull at heartstrings and lead to protests.
All of these issues impact every single one of us, even if not directly.
This post isn’t to preach about any specific health or legislative topic, however, I think if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you probably know where my beliefs, values and actions lie. As a public health student and advocate, a health and wellness coach and person just trying to survive some days, it feels like part of my duty to have these conversations.
This post is to help you learn how you can contact your representatives at different levels of government, regardless of your beliefs.
There are three levels of government: local, state and federal, which means we have quiet a few representatives making decisions on our behalf.
I’ll use South Carolina as an example, since that’s where I live.
Local government may be divided up into two tiers: counties and municipalities. For example, I live in a very small town with a mayor and five town council members. My town is also in a county. If I have questions about my water or sewer, I talk to my town, but if I have questions about property tax or my driver’s license I talk to my county.
I’ve noticed since moving here, my town tries to keep policy changes very quiet because they don’t want input from the community, like passing an ordinance preventing the sale of marijuana/THC products when they’re not even legal in the state. This was something done very quietly. Sadly, this isn’t uncommon.
At the state level, I’m represented by one person in the SC House of Representatives and one person in the SC Senate. Districts are created for both the SC House and SC Senate. The districts are also different for each, for example, because there are less legislators in the SC Senate the districts are larger and may encompass more than one county or parts of multiple counties. Another monster to talk about is redistricting and gerrymandering, but that’s not this conversation.
South Carolina Senate
- 46 legislators
- Voted into office every 4 years
South Carolina House of Representatives
- 124 part-time citizen legislators representing 124 districts
- Voted into office every 2 years
If you want to find your state legislators, you can search “Your State” legislature (ie. South Carolina legislature) and this will provide website for your state. On South Carolina’s landing page, there’s a search box for legislators. Your state’s site might have that too.
US Senate
- 2 senators per state are represented in the US Senate (federal)
- Voted into office every 6 years; elections are staggered
US House of Representatives
- The number of representatives (delegates) is based on the state’s population
- South Carolina has 7 districts, and has actually had as few as 4 districts
- Each district has 1 representative, which means SC currently has 7 delegates in the US House of Representatives
- Voted into office every 3 years
If you want to find your US legislators, you can use these links below:
- Find Your US House of Representatives delegate
- Find Your US Senators
Now you know who your representatives are, but what’s next?
Reach out and introduce yourself. Many don’t realize that we can actually email our representatives. They work for us. Each legislator has a staff that goes through emails and fields calls directed at the legislator. That means that you may not necessarily get your legislator on the phone, but someone will have eyes on a variety of communication channels.
Outreach Etiquette 101
All of my legislators in South Carolina are republicans, and I’m not. I know this means that there are a number of issues we don’t see eye-to-eye on. That doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t reach out to them. It does mean I may need to be creative to present my ideas in a way that they will be able to connect with.
Recently, I drafted a letter to my state senator (for class) about introducing legislation for school meal program expansion and putting pressure on the governor to accept Summer EBT in 2025, since he denied it for this year. Her platform is founded on supporting vulnerable populations, especially children and woman who have experienced domestic violence and assault. She is also a proponent of improving education. I was able to connect my concerns about nutrition program expansion and access for kids to her beliefs about supporting vulnerable populations and education quality. Will this get her attention? Maybe not, but it’s a way to meet in the middle on an issue.
What you should include in your letter or email?
- Introduce yourself as one of their constituents
- Tell them why you’re writing
- What’s concern or issue you want to tell them about?
- How does this concern or issue impact your community?
- Is there data to support your concerns or ideas?
- Offer a solution if you have one like proposing new legislation
- Be kind – This doesn’t mean you can’t be firm.
Health is politicized whether we like it or not. It’s weaponized. It’s an election year. And even if it wasn’t, be educated.
