Everyone is entitled to my opinion.

TELL ‘EM WHAT YOU THINK

How to Reach Lawmakers

January 5, 2017

What Works 

Although lobbyists can meet Representatives, Senators and Congressional staffers daily, We the People, can be as effective--if we communicate our concerns directly to Congress. According to Congressional staffers, there is a hierarchy of tools for getting Congressional attention. In order of effectiveness, those tools available to us are:


  • A good old-fashioned letter, handwritten or typed on paper with a stamp receives the highest attention. An original, personal story will have more impact than form letters.
  • Telephone calls have the next level of effectiveness. This is the quickest and easiest method for busy people. 
  • E-mails, and other electronic communication forms carry less weight. 
  • Petitions whether online or hardcopy have the least impact on Congress, although they are good at spreading the word. See Gail Ablow’s article on the effectiveness of petitions. 


When you contact Congress, BE SPECIFIC. A rant about oil barons ruining the environment is less valuable than a thoughtful question to ask an appointee during the confirmation process. 


How to Find and Track Them
The Library of Congress provides the official website for legislative information. You can find legislators' addresses, telephone numbers, districts, voting records, committees, etc. You can learn about hearings, reports, and read texts of proposed and passed legislation. This site is the major “source” data on Congress. 

GovTrack is not a government website. Its purpose is to help people learn about and track the activities of the U. S. Congress, and it uses Library of Congress data. I find it easier to use than the official site because of the user friendly language. You can look up each Congressional committee, its purpose and jurisdiction under the U. S. Constitution, see photographs of the chair and members. The site provides step by step information on how legislation gets through Congress, on sending letters and contacting your representatives and more importantly, this site will let you track your representatives, how they voted on key legislation that interests you, and help you to let them know when they’ve failed you—and especially when they have pleased you. 

It’s good to let them know you are watching them. 

PopVox allows constituents to share and amplify their concerns with lawmakers--especially if you have a "stakeholder" group. Check out the advocacy resource tools, and the excellent list of political actions under Setting the Right Goals.

Writing to Congress
Keep it short and sweet, one page. I have templates on my desktop, so I can fill in my blanks, make my case, print it, the envelope and hop off to the post office. This makes it easy especially when I'm writing to more than one person. You can get tips on How to Write Effective Letters to Congress here.


Calling Congress
You can find lists of Congressional telephone numbers by state at various sites. One can be found at Daily Kos. You can also call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. 

There you can reach either the Senate or Representative office lines. You can speak to a live person or leave a voice mail by following the automatic selection options. Press #1 for Senators, #2 for Representatives. 

If you want to contact someone outside your state, have a zip code ready to enter when asked for the congressional office you want to contact. Thus, if you’re in NM calling someone from CA, use a CA zip code in that Senator’s or Representative’s district so you can be connected to the right office. See the useful calling tips, provided by the Leadership Conference. 

My Script
Although my calls differ by issue, the following is my general approach. It's short, simple, to the point, and I don't have to be too fancy to communicate my main concern. 













​The staffer is likely to ask your name, address and telephone number. Give it to him. 


Be articulate about your issue and your reasons for the action you seek. If you have budget requests or suggestions for altering the legislation, mention those provisions, and suggest specific alternatives or appropriations. Your calm, polite telephone call dispels any notion that you are a knee-jerk caller. It demonstrates that you’ve taken time to learn something about the legislation or appropriations bill. More importantly, Congressional staff is more likely to forward your concerns. 


Group Action
If you are a sometimes activist, it's a good idea to identify like-minded-issue people among your friends and family. Develop a telephone tree where you can contact a few people, and they can contact others, so that within a very short period of time, you and your friends are able to flood congressional offices with telephone calls on your key point or before a legislative vote. A group action email to your friends could identify the issue, the response, the phone numbers and the "script." Even if you get one other person to call with you, you have magnified your position.  Notify your friends through Facebook or other social media sites.


Regulations

When Congress makes laws, the rules and regulations to implement those laws are written by the Executive Branch of the government, such as the Department of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, etc. These are led by the president’s appointees.

The Federal Register is published daily. Trumpers will begin the process of writing new rules and regulations, or eliminating rules and regulations. Those specific actions will appear in the Federal Register. By law, most changes require a “public comment” period before becoming finalized. This period gives individuals and organizations an opportunity to send in their comments about the rules proposed. You can submit your public comment on the site, and you can also send your comments separately to the Congressional Committee that oversees that particular issue. The Federal Register is huge. Pick your issues and track them.  

Keep Biting

For people who have never telephoned or written to members of Congress the process can seem intimidating. If you focus on a specific issue, your ability to watch what Congress is doing improves tremendously. We cannot respond to everything at once. Encourage your friends and family to join you in making our government answer for its actions. 


You get better by doing. I know someone who has a spreadsheet listing the phone numbers of her Senators and Representatives on which she note the date of her call and the issue she addressed. That gives her a daily task and keeps her from calling the same office on the same issue more than once. Remember, many other people are writing and calling, so keep at it. Each letter, call, e-mail or tweet is a bite. You can be sure that many organizations, those that represent views opposite from yours are also organized to tell Congress what they think, so don't be shy. The Nation needs your voice.  

“Hello, thank you for taking my call. I’d like to speak to the staff who works on XYZ. 

[Sorry that person is not available, can I take a message?]

Yes. I don’t live in [LAWMAKER'S NAME]’s district/state, but her vote on XYZ will affect me in my state. I’d like to encourage her to oppose / or support XYZ issue/legislation because…(then I proceed with very specific reasons why, and the impacts not only for me in my state, but for her own constituents).

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts with you and an important member of Congress.”

Next week we can begin reeling from the onslaught. Take heart. Focus on your specific issues and remember to breathe.

In the coming days people will contact Senators and Representatives to affect Congressional votes on:


  • Appointees
  • Legislation
  • Regulations