Forum for Legislative Action
Welcome to The Forum
The Forum is GPA’s legislative advocacy branch. Channeling GPA’s multi-partisan ethos, the Forum strives to craft feasible, nonpartisan, brass-tacks policy proposals at the federal level, aiming to gain support from a wide spectrum of congressional offices and organizations. Members spend time searching for areas of improvement in all sectors of society, then drill down on policy specifics, seeking tangible and creative solutions.
Writing Policy
Our policy-writing process begins with a synthesis of the issues based on our interest in pursuing specific solutions, pertinence to the political climate, and nonpartisan focus. We then select one topic (or up to two or three depending on the size of our cohort) and spend several months conducting research on the issue, formulating innovative legislative remedies, and crafting a streamlined and coherent proposal.
Annual Presentation
Every year, we make our Spring semester FEDPASS (Federal Passage) trip to Washington, D.C. to present our proposal to legislative offices, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate. We reach out to offices based on Representatives’ and Senators’ committee assignments, policy interests, and prior work. Depending on interest, we may host a trip to Harrisburg, PA for state-level legislation as well. Trips takes place between mid-March and mid-April.
Exploring Washington, D.C.
In addition to meeting with congressional offices, we also spend time exploring D.C. during our Spring trip! This often includes attending the public tours of the Capitol, walking around the House and Senate office buildings, visiting landmarks on and around the National Mall, and our tradition of stopping by Ebenezer’s Coffeehouse upon our morning arrival.