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State Watch

OOIDA's Call to Action

Contacting Lawmakers

Tips for writing phoning and e-mailing your congressional lawmakers.

Introduction

To find your representative's phone number, you may use our jump to a searchable online congressional directory or call the U.S. Capital Switchboard at (202)224-3121 and ask for your Senator's and/or Representative's office.

Remember that telephone calls are often taken by a staff member, not the member of Congress.  Ask to speak with the aide who handles the issue on which you wish to comment.

After identifying yourself, tell the aide you would like to leave a brief message, such as: "Please tell Senator/Representative (Name) that I support/oppose (S.# ___ /H.R. # ___)."

You will also want to state reasons for your support or opposition to the bill.   Ask for you Senator's or Representative's position on the bill.  You may also request a written response to your phone call.

Tips On Writing Congress

The letter is the most popular of communication with a congressional office.  If you decide to write a letter, this list of helpful suggestions will improve the effectiveness of your letter:

1. Your purpose for writing should be stated in the first paragraph of the letter.   If your letter pertains to a specific piece of legislation, identify it accordingly, e.g., House bill: H.R. ___, Senate Bill S. ___.

2. Be courteous, to the point, and include key information, using examples to support you position.

3.  Address only one issue in each letter, and if possible, keep the letter to one page.

Addressing Correspondence:

To a Senator:

        The Honorable (Full Name)
        __ (Rm.#) ___ (Name of) Senate Office Building
        United States Senate
        Washington, DC  20510

        Dear Senator:

To a Representative:

        The Honorable (Full Name)
        __ (Rm.#) ___ (Name of) House Office Building
        United States House of Representatives
        Washington, DC  20515

        Dear Representative:

Note:  When writing to the Chair of a Committee or the Speaker of the House, it is proper to address them as:

        Dear Mr. Chairman or Madame Chairwoman:

        or/  Dear Mr. Speaker:

Tips on E-mailing Congress:

Generally, the same guidelines apply as with writing letters to Congress.  You may find and e-mail your representative by using our jump to the Congressional directory search site. However, e-mail is a much less successful way to reach lawmakers, than letters, phone calls or faxes, according to lobbyists and congressional staff members.

According to Rebecca Fairley Raney's article in the New York Times on the web, staff members are deterred from reading e-mail because they receive up to 5,000 messages per week, many of them from advertisers and non-constituents.

In her article, Raney says that according to the Congress Online Project, Congress received about 80 million e-mail messages last year. Many lawmakers are no longer accepting e-mail due to the huge volume received.

Although you may have greater success when you e-mail state legislators, if you want your U.S. senators and representatives to take notice, your best bet is to skip the e-mails and send letters and faxes, or make phone calls or personal visits.

2. Tips for visiting your congressional lawmakers.

Introduction:

Meeting with a member of Congress or congressional staff is a very effective way to convey a message about a specific legislative issue.  Below are some suggestions to consider when planning a visit to a congressional office.

1. Plan your visit carefully:

2.  Make an  appointment:

3. Be prompt and patient:

4.  Be prepared:

5.  Be political:

6. Be responsive:

3.  Tips for identifying movers and shakers on congressional staffs.

Introduction:  Each Member of Congress has staff to assist him/her during a term in office.  To be most effective in communicating with Congress, it is helpful to know the titles and principal functions of key staff.

Common Titles for Movers and Shakers:

1. Administrative Assistant or Chief of Staff:
The Administrative Assistant reports directly to the member of Congress.  He/she usually has overall responsibility for evaluating the political outcome of various legislative proposals and constituent requests.  The Admin. Asst.  is usually the person in charge of overall office operations, including the assignment of work and supervision of key staff.

2.  Legislative Director, Senior Legislative Assistant, or Legislative Coordinator:
The Legislative Director is usually the staff person who monitors the legislative schedule and makes recommendations  regarding the pros and cons of particular issues.   In some congressional offices there are several Legislative Assistants and responsibilities are assigned to staff with particular expertise in specific areas.   For example, depending on the responsibilities and interests of the member, an office may include a different Legislative Assistant for health issues, environmental matters, taxes, etc.

3.  Press Secretary or Communications Director:
The Press Secretary's responsibility is to build and maintain open and effective lines of communication between the member, his/her constituency, and the general public.   The Press Secretary is expected to know the benefits, demands, and special requirements of both print and electronic media, and how to most effectively promote the member's views or position on specific issues.

4.  Appointment Secretary, Personal Secretary, or Scheduler:
The Appointment Secretary is usually responsible for allocating a member's time among the many demands that arise from congressional responsibilities, staff requirements, and constituent requests.  The Appointment Secretary may also be responsible for making necessary travel arrangements, arranging speaking dates, visits to the district, etc.

5.  Caseworker:
The Caseworker is the staff member usually assigned to help with constituent requests by preparing replies for the member's signature.  The Caseworker's responsibilities may also include helping resolve problems constituents present in relation to federal agencies, e.g., several Social Security and Medicare issues, veteran's benefits, passports, etc.  There are often several Caseworkers in a congressional office.

6. Other Staff Titles:
Other titles used in a congressional office may include: Executive Assistant, Legislative Correspondent, Executive Secretary, Office Manager, and Receptionist.

4. Government 101: How a bill becomes a law.

Introduction:    Anyone may draft a bill, however, only members of Congress can introduce legislation, and by doing so become the sponsor(s).  There are four basic types of legislation: bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions.  The official legislative process begins when a bill or resolution is numbered - H.R. signifies a House bill and S. a Senate bill - referred to a committee and printed by the Government Printing Office.

Step 1.  Referral to Committee:  With few exceptions, bills are referred to standing committees in the House or Senate according to carefully delimited rules of procedure.

Step 2.  Committee Action:  When a bill reaches a committee, it is placed on the committee's calendar.  A bill can be referred to a subcommittee or considered by the committee as a whole.  It is at this point that a bill is examined carefully and its chances for passage are determined.  If the committee does not act on a bill, it is equivalent of killing it.

Step 3.  Subcommittee Review:  Often, bills are referred to a subcommittee for study and hearings.  Hearings provide the opportunity to put on the record the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters and opponents of the legislation.  Testimony can be given in person or submitted as a written statement.

Step 4.  Mark Up:  When the hearings are completed, the sub committee may meet to "mark up" the bill, that is make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the full committee.  If a subcommittee votes not to report legislation to the full committee, the bill dies.

Step 5.  Committee Action to Report a Bill:  After receiving a subcommittee's report on a bill, the full committee can conduct further study and hearings, or it can vote on the subcommittee's recommendations and nay proposed amendments.  The full committee then votes on its recommendations to the House or Senate.  This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported."

Step 6.  Publication of a Written Report:  After a committee votes to have a bill reported, the committee chairman instructs staff to prepare a written report on the bill.  This report describes the intent and scope of the legislation, impact on existing laws and programs, position of the executive branch, and views of dissenting members of the committee.

Step 7.  Scheduling Floor Action:  After a bill is reported back to the chamber where it originated, it is placed in chronological order on the calendar.  In the House there are several different legislative calendars, and the Speaker and the majority leader largely determine if, when and in what order bills come up.  In the Senate there is only one legislative calendar.

Step 8.  Debate:  When a bill reaches the floor of the House or Senate, there are rules or procedures governing the debate on legislation.  These rules determine the conditions and amount of time allocated for general debate.

Step 9.  Voting:   After the debate and the approval of any amendments, the bill is passed or defeated by the members voting.

Step 10.  Referral to the Other Chamber.  When a bill is passed by the House or Senate, it is referred to the other chamber where it usually follows the same route through committee and floor action.  This chamber may approve the bill as received, reject it, ignore it, or change it.

Step 11.  Conference Committee Action:  If only minor changes are made to a bill by the other chamber, it is common for the legislation to go back to the first chamber for concurrence.  However, when actions of the other chamber significantly alter the bill, a conference committee is formed to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions.  If the conferees are unable to reach agreement, the legislation dies.  If agreement is reached, a conference report is prepared describing the committee members recommendations for changes.  Both the House and Senate must approve of the conference report.

Step 12.  Final Actions:   After a bill has been approved by both the House and Senate in identical form, it is sent to the President.  If the President approves the legislation, he signs it and it becomes law.  Or, the President can take no action for ten days, while Congress is in session, and it automatically becomes law.   If the President opposes the bill, he can veto it; or, if he takes no action after the Congress has adjourned its second session, it is a "pocket veto" and the legislation dies.

Step 13.  Overriding a Veto:   If the President vetoes a bill, Congress may attempt to "override the veto."  This requires a two thirds roll call vote of the members who are present in sufficient numbers to constitute a quorum