Cool Things to Do on AEDaction.orgWritten By: CHRISTIAN KLEIN
Article Date: 07-02-2007
Copyright(C) 2008 Associated Equipment Distributors. All Rights Reserved.
A look at AED's new grassroots Web site.
AED has a great new tool to help distributors get involved in our Government Affairs Program. The association's new legislative action Web site-www.AEDaction.org-is an interactive, online system designed to help members learn about key issues, see how their representatives and senators have voted, get contact information for lawmakers and congressional staff, and communicate with Capitol Hill.
Shortly after AEDaction.org went live in January, AED members around the country used it to send scores of e-mails to support an initiative by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) to win full funding for this year's highway program. Because the site also contains state and local information, distributors in Illinois have already used the system to support their campaign for a mechanic's lien bill in the Illinois Senate.
You can use the site to:
- Send messages to your members of Congress
The site makes it easy to communicate with the Hill. Using your zip code, AEDaction.org will identify your lawmakers and launch a system to help you send messages to your representative and senators. You can chose to send a pre-written note drafted by AED's Washington team, personalize the AED text, or write your own message. - View congressional voting scorecards
Are your representatives doing in Washington what they tell you they're doing when they're home? Where do they really stand on issues like the death tax and increased infrastructure funding? AED members can use AEDaction.org to see how their representatives have voted on legislation of specific interest to the equipment industry. The AED Bill Scorecard organizes key legislation and voting records of all members of Congress. In addition, the site offers the "MegaVote" weekly update where you can sign up to receive weekly e-mails on how local legislators voted on a variety of issues. - Locate the "experts" in Capitol Hill offices
AEDaction.org helps distributors locate and contact key congressional staff, including the legislative directors, legislative assistants and schedulers in your representatives' offices. This tool allows you to find out exactly who is impacting policy decisions on the Hill. - Contact the media
Want to send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper? AEDaction.org has a feature that allows you to identify and communicate with all the media outlets in your area. It's a great tool to help get the industry's messages in front of a broader audience, something that will be critical, for example, in the next highway reauthorization debate. - Learn Capitol Hill basics
The site also contains a section built to inform members about the legislative process and provide expanded biographical information on members of Congress. It even features tips on how to construct effective correspondence to a representative, senator or congressional staffer. Additionally, you can use the system to determine whether your representatives sit on key committees that impact transportation, tax, product liability, and other issues. - Register to vote
The site allows you and your employees to easily register to vote. In addition, members can obtain voting location and absentee ballot information. The more distributors register to vote, the stronger our industry's voice will be. If you haven't already done so, go to AEDaction.org. The power to support AED's Government Affairs Program and affect the political process is all just a few keystrokes away.
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