Get Involved

District Visits

Invite your US representatives or senators to visit your company’s facility or university laboratory or meet in their local state or district offices

Get Involved

District Visits/Facility Tours

Optica members can invite their US representatives or senators to visit their companies facilities or university laboratory. As a resource, the National Photonics Initiative, of which Optica is a cofounding sponsor, has a helpful district visits toolkit.

Members of Congress typically work in their district office during Congressional District Work Periods, such as the summer district work period during the month of August. View the 2024 Congressional Calendar here. When the House and Senate are "in session", those are the dates they will be in Washington, D.C.

If you have questions about district visit or facility/laboratory tour, please contact Optica's Global Policy & Affairs team at publicaffairs@optica.org.

Photo Above: In April 2022, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) toured PFG Precision Optics in Ocean Springs, MS. Read the NPI News Release. (Pictured: Travis Green, PFG Precision Optics President, Senator Roger Wicker, and Gayle Wicker).

Photo Above: In 2020, the Montana Photonics Industry Alliance hosted US Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) to discuss the positive economic impact of the optics and photonics industry in the state. Participating companies included Ascent Vision, Wavelength Electronics, FLIR Systems/Scientific Materials, Montana Instruments, S2 Corporation, and Elemental Scientific Lasers

Photo Above: In 2018, the University of Oregon welcomed US Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) to campus to tour the Center for Optical, Molecular and Quantum Science and see first-hand the value of photonics and quantum physics to existing, new and future infrastructure. Photo Credit: Chris Larsen, University of Oregon

Photo Above: Congressman DeFazio with members of the University of Oregon student chapter. Photo Credit: Chris Larsen, University of Oregon

Photo Above: In 2017, US Congresswoman Martha McSally (R-AZ) toured Edmund Optics Tucson Research and Design Center

Photo Above: In 2016, US Rep. John Mica (R-FL) spoke at the Florida Photonics Cluster meeting taking place at BEAM Company.

Photo Above: In 2015, US Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) toured Optikos Corporation