MOAA’s Legislative Action Center has surpassed expectations since its launch at the start of 2022, allowing members to send tens of thousands of letters, make phone calls, share personal experiences on military- and veteran-related issues, and much more.

Now, at the start of 2023 and a new Congress, the Legislative Action Center will begin with a clean slate. MOAA members will have a chance to engage on new and ongoing issues impacting the uniformed services and veteran communities.

You may think the center looks sparse in the session’s early going – there aren’t many calls-to-action to send to your legislations, and the list of MOAA-supported legislation may be minimal. All of this is normal at the start of a new Congress.

The 118th Congress convened Jan. 3. Each Congress lasts two calendar years, and in that time elected officials will introduce thousands of standalone bills. If a bill isn’t signed into law during the Congress in which it was introduced, it’s considered “dead” and must be reintroduced and restart the legislative process in a new session.

[RELATED: Ask the New Congress to Make Progress on Concurrent Receipt]

MOAA staffers will spend the next several months communicating our legislative priorities on Capitol Hill and engaging with legislators to introduce critical legislation to benefit servicemembers, veterans, their families, and survivors.

What Can MOAA Members Do in the Meantime?

It is critical that MOAA members, and the wider uniformed service and veteran communities, remain engaged as the new session builds steam. You can do this in several ways:

• Check back with the Legislative Action Center. MOAA will be adding new calls to action, more MOAA-supported legislation, and other key updates regarding the association’s legislative priorities throughout the year.
• Find your local MOAA chapter. Hundreds of MOAA affiliates across the nation offer a new way to engage with your community. You can also meet, collaborate, and socialize with fellow servicemembers and military spouses.
• Check out online and printed publications. MOAA’s email newsletter and magazine are two key ways members can stay up to date on the association’s legislative advocacy.

Legislative Action Center 101

MOAA’s Legislative Action Center offers members a plethora of features to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill and take an active role in MOAA’s advocacy:

• Campaigns to contact federal legislators: MOAA’s action center enables virtual advocates to send letters, make phone calls, and share the association’s advocacy priorities on social media as well.
• MOAA’s key advocacy issues: Want to know what MOAA is doing for the population groups of interest to you, then check out MOAA’s Key Advocacy Issues to learn more about what MOAA is lobbying for on behalf of these key groups.
• MOAA-supported legislation: On average, every two-year congressional session introduces over 10,000 individual bills. Use this dedicated page to find each bill MOAA supports in the current session.
• Log your interactions with lawmakers: The new log an interaction feature enables virtual advocates to provide MOAA with information about their meetings with lawmakers.
• Look up your elected officials’ contact information: Unsure how to contact your lawmakers, or even who your elected officials are? The directory feature not only finds their names, but provides detailed contact information for multiple offices, as well as links to their social media profiles.

To make the most of these features, here are some best practices when using the platform:

• Enable cookies. MOAA’s Legislative Action Center offers members the option to remain signed in on any device where you’ve already accessed the platform. This means you will not have to reenter your information every time you want to send a call to action to your legislators. However, cookies needs to be enabled on your devices so the center can keep you logged in. If you don’t know how to manage cookies, these links will help you get started on Internet Explorer or Edge, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.
• Address not recognized? Sometimes (not often) a member’s address won’t be recognized in the action center’s registration form. Unfortunately, MOAA does not manage that part of the form; it pulls data from Google. If your address isn’t recognized, we recommend using a next-door address or another address near you so you can access the platform. Alternatively, you can add your address to Google.
• MOAA’s action center tutorial. First-time, and seasoned, users can review commonly asked questions about the center. This is a good place to start if you are troubleshooting an issue with the platform.

While MOAA’s Legislative Action Center is a powerful tool, its power stems from the dedication of MOAA’s members and their continued engagement with lawmakers on the issues impacting the uniformed services and veteran communities. As much as MOAA fights for you, MOAA needs you to fight alongside us, as well; check out the Legislative Action Center now.