The “No Legislation Without Representation Conference” is designed to support the “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA). We want to start a national debate about Congress's failure to read the laws it passes, and then use that publicity to pass RTBA. If you don't already know about RTBA you can learn about it here.

To learn about the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference” — how it would work and what it would accomplish — click here.

If you would like to join an RTBA MeetUp group click here to see if there's one in your Congressional district.

If there is no group in your congressional district, and you would like to start one, or if you want to start a group in your district that is closer to where you live, or that meets at a time more convenient for you, click here for instructions.

For ideas and materials you can use to run your RTBA MeetUp group, click here.

Invade Congress for the “Read the Bills Act” — “The No Legislation Without Representation Conference”

We want to do something that will . . .

• Spread the word about RTBA everywhere
  
  
• Attract national media coverage and possibly place RTBA on C-SPAN
  
  
• Join blogs and radio talk show hosts into a mighty coalition to pass RTBA
  
  
• Target select members of Congress for special attention — attention that will make them squirm if they don't sponsor RTBA
  
  
• Flood Congress with emails, phone calls, faxes, and . . .
  
  
• Bring more than 1,000 DC Downsizers to Washington, DC to meet with their Representatives and Senators to urge the passage of RTBA!

Imagine the Impact!

• Imagine the impact of more than 1,000 DC Downsizers roaming the halls of Congress with RTBA buttons, asking their representatives to do their jobs!
  
  
• Imagine the impact of politically interested Americans watching Downsize DC's “No Legislation Without Representation Conference” on C-SPAN.
  
  
• Imagine the impact of Downsize DC President Jim Babka making the rounds of Washington, DC's “talking-head shows” to explain the meaning of this citizen's revolt against an irresponsible Congress.
  
  
• Imagine the impact of TV camera's recording the image of 1,000+ DC Downsizers on the steps of Congress.
  
  
• Imagine the impact on Congressional nerves to have DC Downsizers doing interviews with the local media in their hometowns about RTBA and their trip to Washington.
  
  
• Imagine the impact of the blog coverage the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference” would generate.
  
  
• Imagine the impact of so many DC Downsizers sitting in Congressional offices at the same time, politely demanding, on behalf of their constituents back home, that Congress not be ignorant of the contents of the laws it passes!

An exciting but achievable goal!

Can we find ONE PERSON in every Congressional District to attend the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference,” and meet with their Representatives and Senators? That's 435 people. Can we find two people from each district? That's 870 people to go to Congress.

• Three people per district would be 1,305
  
  
• Four people per district would be 1,704
  
  
• Five people per district would be 2,175

There are about 600,000 people in each Congressional district. Can we find one, two, three, four, or five people out of 600,000, who are willing to go meet with each other and Congress?

Can we find a lot of people to attend in many districts, none in others, and still send more than 1,000 people to meet with Congress? What's possible? It's up to us to find out.

And the “us” I'm talking about is the Downsize DC staff and all the other DC Downsizers across America. Here's what we have in mind . . .

Keep It Simple

The Internet provides us with powerful tools to accomplish our goal.

• In 2000 the Dean for President campaign used a website called MeetUp.com to assemble a mighty force of grassroots volunteers to propel Howard Dean into the national spotlight.
  
  
• Now we intend to use the same tool to organize our “No Legislation Without Representation Conference,” and our invasion of Capitol Hill.

Where do you want to go next?
Explanation of the “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA) | Explanation of the “No Legislation Without Representation” Conference | Look for an RTBA MeetUp group in your area | How to start an RTBA MeetUp group in your area | Materials you can use to run your RTBA MeetUp group

How to start an RTBA MeetUp group in your area

• Interested DC Downsizers will form MeetUp groups in their Congressional Districts. These MeetUp groups will be registered at MeetUp.com.
  
  
• We'll use our Downsize DC website, blog, and email list to tell people about these MeetUp groups. People will visit MeetUp.com to find out when and where the RTBA MeetUp group or groups for their district meets. There can be more than one MeetUp group per district — as many as people want to start — so meeting places and times can be made more convenient for more people.
  
  
• At these meetings newcomers will learn about RTBA and the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference.” Attendees will volunteer for one or more of the following . . .
  
  
1. Attend the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference” at their own expense.
   
   
2. Attend if others can help pay the cost.
   
   
3. Pay for those who have the time but not the money to go to Washington.
   
   
4. Ask friends, family, and workmates to attend the next meeting of the RTBA MeetUp group.

When more than 1,000 commit to go to Washington we'll set a date and time for the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference.”

But that will be only the beginning. Recruitment will continue right-up to the date of the conference. And MeetUp groups that have recruited at least 5 attendees will move on to execute other projects to promote RTBA in their districts.

We hope you like this plan. Because we need your help to make it happen. Here's what you can do . . .

• Check to see if there is already a MeetUp Group in your Congressional district. If you do not know which district you live in you can find out by using our online system to send a message to Congress asking them to pass RTBA. Our system will then tell you what district you live in. You can use the system to send your RTBA message by clicking here. If you already know what district you live in you can go directly to our roster of MeetUp Groups and see if there is already one in your district, by clicking here.
  
  
• If there is already a MeetUp group in your district that meets at a time and place convenient to you, go to the MeetUp.com page for that group and sign up as a member. Attend the next meeting and get involved!
  
  
•   If there is no MeetUp group for your district, or if the existing group or groups are inconvenient to you, start a new group of your own. Go to RTBA.MeetUp.com and click on the link at the top of the page to start a new RTBA MeetUp group. There is a monthly charge for maintaining a group on the MeetUp site, but don't let this deter you. You can pass the hat at your RTBA gatherings to cover the cost. After you've created your group go here to register your group with DownsizeDC.org and we'll start sending potential new members your way! If you start a new group, when and where you meet is up to you.
  
  
• You will find ideas and materials you can use to run your RTBA MeetUp group below.

Where do you want to go next?
Explanation of the “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA) | Explanation of the “No Legislation Without Representation” Conference | Look for an RTBA MeetUp group in your area | How to start an RTBA MeetUp group in your area | Materials you can use to run your RTBA MeetUp group

Ideas and materials for running your RTBA MeetUp Group

When and how often should you meet?

It's up to you. The form of the gathering can be anything you want. You could meet weekly for a happy hour, or monthly for a group dinner or pot-luck party at someone's house. The point is to do something you and others will enjoy.

Remember the goal: You want to attract like-minded people for the common purpose of recruiting people to support RTBA. Some of these new supporters will want to go to Washington, DC for the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference” and the Congressional Invasion. Others will help sponsor some of those who will be attending, and recruit new potential RTBA supporters.

Since there is no requirement to have only one RTBA MeetUp group per district, we are free to try any and every approach. There could be groups that meet weekly or monthly, or even daily for that matter, if, for instance, you wanted to do something like an after-work “happy hour” at a local bar.

You could even change the form of the gatherings over time. For instance, you could start with a happy hour, switch to a dinner in a restaurant later, and then start doing pot-luck parties when you have a member with a house suitable for that purpose. You can even mix-and-match, having different kinds of gatherings at different times.

It's up to you! Have fun!

What should we do at our gatherings?

The answer is simplicity itself. Here are the steps . . .

Keep a count of how many repeat attendees you have, and how many newcomers

Tell the newcomers about the “Read the Bills Act” and the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference.” Keep the conversation light. Don't push. Answer questions. Talk about other things too — football, soap operas, whatever. Make friends. There are three PDF files you can print out so you can give copies to the newcomers:

• PDF summary explanation of RTBA
• PDF of the RTBA legislation
• PDF explanation of the conference and the Congressional invasion

Tell newcomers there are six ways they can help support passage of RTBA . . .

1. They can join the MeetUp Group and ask other people to attend future meetings. If they agree to this get their contact information, including their phone number, mailing address, and email. Tell them where to go on the web to register with your MeetUp group.
   
   
2. They can send messages to Congress asking them to pass RTBA. Tell them where to go on the DownsizeDC.org website to do this.
   
   
3. They can agree to attend the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference.” (Note: the date of the conference will be chosen once we have 1,000 people committed to attend).
   
   
4. They can agree to attend the conference if others can help pay their way.
   
   
5. They can agree to help pay for others to attend the conference.
   
   
6. They can agree to help recruit other RTBA supporters to attend the MeetUp group.

Keep a list of the people who agree to one of the final four items. Code them as follows:

A = I will go at my own expense
B = I will go if others will help pay my way
C = I cannot go but I will help sponsor others to go
D = I can't attend or sponsor others to go to the conference, but I can help recruit new RTBA supporters.

After each meeting log in here to record how many people you had at your latest meeting, and how many were new people, and how many were repeat visitors. Then log in here to record the contact information for your new supporters. Use the “A through D” codes above to designate what each person has agreed to do with regard to the Congressional Invasion and the “No Legislation Without Representation Conference.” You will be able to update these records if people change their contact information or their level of commitment.

That's all there is to it. Now get started. Meet people. Have fun. Promote RTBA. And get ready to Invade Congress!

Where do you want to go next?
Explanation of the “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA) | Explanation of the “No Legislation Without Representation” Conference | Look for an RTBA MeetUp group in your area | How to start an RTBA MeetUp group in your area | Materials you can use to run your RTBA MeetUp group