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PPA’s December D.C. Trip, Day Three
Hi PPA!
We just wrapped up our third day in D.C. We had so many meetings schedule to ensure that we hit all members of the judiciary that we had to split the group up to make all of them! Many of the meetings were in offices of Members of Congress that we have met with in the past. However, we make sure to circle back to these offices to not only take the opportunity to update them on the changes or status of the CASE act but also to continue to encourage them to sign on and have them realize how many people CASE will effect.
We started our day in Ted Poe's office (TX-R). During this meeting, we gave them an update on the small claims bill and wanted to take moment to go over who all has co-sponsored the bill. This is important since if a congressional member aligns with another congressional member they are likely to talk and convince each other to co-sponsor.
After meeting with Representative Poe's office we went on to meet with Representative Gohmert of Texas. This was one of the first times we have met with this office. This meeting was a chance to summarize what the CASE act would do but also how the Copyright Office would benefit from the passage of this bill. Representative Gohmert's office was very responsive to the bill, and has said that they will reach out to us with additional questions.
After meeting with Representatives from Texas, we moved on to meet with Chairman Goodlatte and his Chief of Staff Joe Keeley. The Chair has great hopes for this bill and wants to move the bill forward. He told us that now is the time to engage grassroots support and encourage more Representatives to co-sponsor the bill. The more co-sponsors, the more likely the bill will move and have an easier time getting through.
Once we left Chairman Goodlatte's office we met with Representative Issa of California. During this meeting, we updated them on changes made to the CASE Act and were told that the Representative is keenly considering this bill, and may possibly co-sponsor. We will follow up with this office to see what else we can do to make sure this happens.
The next two offices we met with were Representative Cicilline (D-RI) and Representative Raskin (D-MD). This was our first-time meeting with both offices. During this meeting, we caught them up on Small Claims and laid the foundation of the CASE Act. Since these were our first-time meetings with these offices we know we must circle back at the beginning of next year and make sure we keep them updated and encourage them to co-sponsor.
As you can tell we had a jam-packed day on the Hill. We are heading to the airport now getting ready to head back to Atlanta. As a reminder... keep sending those letters!