AOTA annual Hill Day essentials

AOTA's Hill Day brings occupational therapy into the spotlight on Capitol Hill through meetings with legislators and/or their staff. It is usually held in the month of September.

AOTA's 2024 Hill Day will be in-person, on Friday, September 20th, 2024 in Washington, DC. All preparation for this event will be virtual, with a live Zoom briefing on September 12th, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Please be sure to register for the event by September 6th, in order to be a part of the day and to receive all of your materials!

Schools and programs will be limited to 20 students each. This number does not include faculty. If you have questions about this policy, please contact us at HillDay@aota.org.

You can register through the link provided on the main Annual Hill Day page. For 2024, registration closes on September 6th. Please be advised that the sooner we request a meeting with a Hill office, the more likely we are to secure the meeting. For this reason, we strongly suggest you register by August 23rd. Every person attending must registered.

None. AOTA will arrange all Congressional meetings for you, with the one Representative and two Senators from your state. Those appointment times will be provided to you through the Hill Day app, after the kick-off Zoom meeting, along with the names of all those who are attending the same meeting.

AOTA will schedule meetings between 9:30 am and 5:00 pm ET. We work to ensure there is sufficient time between appointments for advocates to move from one meeting to the next.

You should expect each of your meetings to last around 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the availability of staff or the Member of Congress. It will take you approximately 20 to 30 minutes to travel between the Senate office buildings and the House office buildings. Therefore, we work to ensure there is 1 hour between Senate and House meetings to give advocates enough travel time.

Business attire is appropriate. However, be sure to wear comfortable shoes because you will be doing a lot of walking outside and on marble floors. Many Members of Congress and their staff wear sneakers throughout the day!

Only attend meetings for which you are registered. AOTA will schedule you to visit with the Congressional offices that represent the area where you are registered to vote. For this reason, please provide us with the address at which you are registered to vote; if it is different from the address on your registration confirmation, please contact us with a correction at hillday@aota.org.

It is often difficult to get an appointment with your actual Representative and Senators, so AOTA will make the appointments with the staff when needed. Congressional staff play a very important role in determining the direction of legislation and providing information and input to the Member of Congress regarding their area of interest. Congressional staff do the majority of gathering information, taking meetings with many special interest groups, and listening to constituents who have an interest in their particular issue. Because Members of Congress rely heavily on their staff for input, meeting with them is an opportunity that should not be missed. Typical Congressional staff we meet with include the Health Legislative Assistant and the Education Legislative Assistant, depending on the issue.

You are responsible for arranging all of your travel, including travel or transportation into Washington, DC, on the morning of Capitol Hill Day. Briefing Information, including location, will be shared with you beforehand, and you are responsible for getting to that location on your own. Information about arranging travel, lodging, and transportation within DC (including Metro, taxi cabs, buses, and shuttles), navigating the Capitol Hill building complex, and accessibility within the building complex are available on the Tips and Tools page under "how to get around and what to expect".

Yes. AOTA staff will prepare a folder that will include a brief overview of occupational therapy and specific issue fact sheets that are relevant to issues or legislation being addressed. Contact information for AOTA's Federal Affairs department staff is also be included, along with other pertinent materials. These materials will also be available on the webpage as they become available.

AOTA provides all the necessary and pertinent information in the folders that will be left with Congressional staff. You may include your own materials; however, everything you discuss should be relevant to occupational therapy, as you are representing AOTA. Personal matters should not be discussed in these meetings.

The most important message to get across in your meetings is for the Member of Congress or their staff to understand what occupational therapy is and how it benefits consumers (their constituents), communities, districts, states, and society as a whole.

AOTA staff will provide you with information beforehand in e-mails and on the AOTA website, including handouts and talking points. We will also provide you with information packets on the day of the event.

Becoming comfortable with what you want to discuss before your meetings is important. We will provide a tutorial with details about the logistics of the meetings and what to expect before the actual Hill Day, and we will cover the status of the legislative issues on site during the Hill Day briefing.

• Register for Hill Day after registration opens.
• Visit the Tips and Tools page for information on making travel, lodging, and local transportation arrangements for your trip to Washington, DC.
• Make and confirm your travel arrangements to get to Hill Day.
• Be sure to complete all assignments prior to Hill Day. After registration closes, we will send you information on how to prepare for the day. This will include what to expect, how to conduct your visits, and background materials and talking points for the legislative issues for the day. You can also check the Tips and Tools page for prep materials as this page will be updated as materials are ready.
• Visit our Contact Policymakers page to learn more about your Members of Congress' interests and their positions on AOTA issues, as well as current legislation supported by AOTA. Find out more about which issues are currently in the spotlight by visiting our Advocacy Issues page.
• After the Kick-off Zoom meeting, you will receive information on how to download the Hill Day app. Be sure to download the app as soon as possible, as it will provide live updates to your schedule, information about the offices you will be meeting with, and details about other advocates attending the meeting with you.

• Dress appropriately (business attire) with comfortable shoes.
• Arrive at the morning briefing room 15 minutes before the briefing begins, so you have time to pick up your materials and get a seat.
• Attend all of your Congressional meetings. If you are unable to attend any of your scheduled meetings, please let us know so we can notify the office.
• Provide the staff and/or legislators with the Congressional information packet provided by AOTA.

• Be sure to fill out your feedback form through the Hill Day App.
• Write the Congressional office an e-mail thanking them for their time, asking if they have any additional questions, and reiterating that you would appreciate their support on the issues discussed. Be sure to provide them with the contact information for AOTA Federal Affairs staff.
• Share your experience on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or your favorite social media platform (#OTHillDay).
• Remain involved and aware of the issues, and stay in contact with your Senators’ and Representatives' offices to continue to build a relationship with them.