Contacting Congress

Adapted from the Latin American Working Group website: www.lawg.org

• Do’s and Don’ts

• Effective Letter Writing

• Making the Most of a Phone Call

Do's:

• Do learn members' committee assignments and where their specialties lie.

• Do identify the aide(s) that handle the issues and build a relationship with them.

• Do present the need for what you're asking the member to do. Use reliable information.

• Do relate situations in their home state or district to legislation.

• Do, in the case of voting records, ask why the member voted the way they did.

• Do show openness to knowledge of the counterarguments.

• Do admit what you don't know. Offer to find out and send information back to the office.

• Do spend time even when the member has a position against yours. You can lessen the intensity of their opposition, or you might even change their position.

Don'ts:

• Don't overload a congressional lobby visit with too many issues.  Plan one visit for one or two topics.

• Don't confront, threaten, pressure, or beg or speak with a moralistic tone.

• Don't be argumentative; speak with calmness and commitment so as not to put them on the defensive.

• Don't use easy ideological arguments.

• Don't overstate the case. Members and staff are very busy.

• Don't expect members to be specialists; their schedule and workload make them generalists.

• Don't make promises you can't keep.

• Don't leave the visit without leaving a position or fact sheet in the office.

Effective Letter Writing

Members of Congress place a great deal of stock in the letters they receive from constituents. Because not everyone can set up an appointment with their member of Congress, letters still remain the most traditional and relied upon contact between constituent and representative. Congressional staff will also respond in writing to every letter that comes into their office, which gives you the opportunity to get your representatives on record regarding their position on your issue. Members of Congress respond as well to faxes and email, although some offices are still catching up to the benefits of the electronic era.

The Pecking Order: Staffers in Congress place varying degrees of importance on the

communications they receive based on how long it took the constituent to prepare it –

the more thought that went into it, the more important the issue is to the constituent.

Why Old-fashioned is Best: When possible, you

should always communicate with your members of Congress through old-fashioned mail - this shows them the greatest degree of effort. When letters stack up in a congressional office, they know it is an issue that is important in their district. So when it comes to Congress, nothing beats the tried and true snail mail.

To Fax or Not to Fax: Sending a fax is a close second to sending a letter by post. Because they are printed out, they still pile up and have a similar effect as letters. Faxes also have the benefit of ringing like the phone. When a fax machine is constantly ringing and printing out  letters, the whole office takes notice. But because a fax is less personal than a letter, they do not get quite as much attention.

The Perils of E-mail: Every office in Congress responds differently to e-mails. Because many emails are mass produced and easy to send with the click of a button, some staffers pay little attention to e-mail. It is also less common for a congressional office to send a response with their policy position to emails. However, some offices are catching on to using email, and keep active track of how many e-mails come through on each issue. As time passes, Congress will become more responsive to e-mail - but it's not there yet. Sending your e-mails encourages them to become more responsive in the long run, but it might not produce the desired outcome in the short run.

Say It Like You Mean It: Because congressional offices receive hundreds of letters a week, always try to personalize your letter. The more your letter stands out, the more attention it will receive. Tailor your letter with your own language and any special concerns that you might have. Because congressional offices receive so many letters, they also have standard response letters that they return to you. If your letter is personalized, you increase the chances that you'll receive a more personal response. And if your letter raises the issue in a way that can't be responded to by a form letter, then staff have to take the time to craft an individual response - that's ideally what you want. Because every individual response has to be approved by the member of Congress or their senior staff, an individual response forces your issue to the desks of decision makers. So personalize those letters!

Identify Yourself: Always begin each letter by stating that you are a constituent. This will let the staffer know right away that they need to pay attention to your letter.

Get to the Point: To make sure that your letter gets the most attention from the staffer reading it, make sure that you put your request at the very beginning of your letter. By the second sentence, you should identify the issue that you are writing about, and how you want your representative to act on that issue. Because staffers read so many letters from constituents, it's important to grab their attention right away. Don't be afraid to state your positions strongly. Use bold to highlight your opinions!

Clear as a Bell: You should always be exactly clear on what piece of legislation you want them to co-sponsor, how you want them to vote on a particular bill, what letter you want them to sign, or what issue you want them to become active on. The more specific your ask, the more you force them to take a specific stand on your issue.

Short and Sweet: One of the reasons constituents write letters to their members of Congress is to inform them of their opinions. Another reason is to educate them on an issue important to you. Always include the relevant facts and arguments to your issue when you write - but remember that you probably won't keep their attention for more than 1-2 pages.

Getting a Response: Although it is standard practice for congressional offices to respond to all constituent mail, always be sure to clearly state that you would like to hear back on how you are going to be represented on your issue. This lets the office know that their response matters to you.

Where to send your letter: You can get addresses and phone numbers for your members of Congress from the U.S. Capitol switchboard by calling 1.800.839.5276. To get a fax number, you will need to call the member's office directly. You can also check out congressional webpages for contact information, including email addresses.

Making the Most of a Phone Call

• Ask to speak with the staff person responsible for the issue. On foreign policy issues, this will often be the foreign policy aide. If know the appropriate staff person's name who deals with your issues, so much the better.  Give your name and tell her or him that you are a constituent (you will be more likely to get through).

• Introduce yourself very briefly to the staffer, explaining that you are a constituent and, if you belong to a local organization concerned about this issue, add that connection.

• Be specific about what you want the member to do. Don't just complain about an issue, say you want the member to vote for or sponsor a specific bill or amendment, or take a particular action, like sign a congressional "dear colleague" letter.

• Ask what the member's position is on the issue. If the staff person doesn't know or won't say what the member's position is, ask what they, the staff person, will be recommending to the member. Ask them to learn what the member's position is, and to get back to you with that information.

• Thank them for their time.

• Be prepared to get voicemail. Prepare a brief one to two sentence summary of what you want to leave on voicemail. Do give your name and contact information. You may want to ask them to call you back. If it's right before a vote, leaving your "plug" for the vote without asking for a call back may be sufficient.