What to Say When Talking to Representatives or the Media:
Please see these talking points to help you determine what you want to say when speaking or writing to a representative or the media. To see more information for each topic please click on the plus sign to the right of each header below.
Talking points for if you’re a terminated employee writing to a representative or the media.
- State your name and the date you were terminated. If writing to the media you can ask them to not mention your name if they share your story.
- State your job title and duty station.
- List all your job duties and job description:
- Include training you have given or taken.
- TDYs and what your job duty was for your TDYs.
- Be very specific when describing your job duties
- Share the circumstances of your termination.
- How much warning did you have?
- The reason given for your termination
- Other useful information to add:
- What your job position was funded by: user fees, congress budget, etc.
- Current performance review
- Performance awards
- Collateral duties: if you are part of a response team, safety coordinator, member of a committee, etc.
- If you are an essential employee and would be exempt in a furlough.
General tips when reacing out to your representatives
- Develop a short, personal and polite request that the decisionmaker support scientific research, funding for science, and for Congress to act and protect science in federal agencies.
- Try to share specific examples or stories on why they should support scientific research, funding for science, etc.
- Tell them your personal story about how the recent Executive Orders are directly affecting you and/or your lab/federal agency and how they relate to the district or state. Personal stories are the most compelling and effective.
- Talk about the people you work with.
- Projects that have been impacted and why those projects were important.
- Who did those projects help?
- Talk about how you were impacted.
- Did funding get pulled?
- Are there certain words, terms or phrases you can not use anymore?
- Did you have a reduction in force?
Where can I find more information to develop my own talking points?
United States Department of Agriculture
For USDA check out this website for more information: Click Here
Animal Plant Health Inspection Services
For APHIS check out this website for more information: Click Here
Impact Report: Click here
Plant Protection Quarantine: to see more information please cilck on the triangle to the left of each header below.
For Plant Protection and Quarantine: Click Here
Around the World: Click Here
Plant Protection and Quarantine by the Numbers FY 2023: Click Here
Exports: Click Here
Unsure what certain words, terms or phrases mean?
Check out our glossary.