Excerpted and adapted from a report by the Congressional Management Foundation:
Sending
a letter to a member of Congress is not equivalent to casting a ballot
or answering a survey, where the choice with the most responses "wins."
Sending a letter to a member of Congress, or "member," is more like giving a speech
at a town meeting or writing a letter to the editor. The content
matters. The operating assumption of many congressional staff is that
the more thought constituents give to the communication, the more
passionately they care about the issue. Quality messages are those that
are:
1. Personalized. Even just one relevant and
personalized sentence or paragraph in an otherwise generic message
conveys some sense of a constituent’s sentiment. The more personalized
the message, the better. It significantly helps the communication if
one’s personal views, experiences, and the reasons for one’s opinions
are included in the message.
2. Short. Congressional staff review hundreds of letters every week, so covering an issue in a few short paragraphs helps them immensely.
3. Targeted.
Messages that convey knowledge of specific legislation, the member’s
stance on the issue, and the impact the legislation will have on the
member’s constituents, district, or state tend to be much more
persuasive than generic messages.
4. Informative. Congressional
offices do not have the resources to research and track every bill, so
they focus on legislation being considered in their members’ committees
or by the full House or Senate. Often constituents bring new
legislation to their attention, requiring staff to do research so as to
be able to discuss and respond to it. For this reason, quality messages
contain specific information about the legislation in question.
Letters
sent to congressional offices in Washington, DC go through an extensive
screening process and can take more than a week to arrive. The most
efficient way to get a letter to a member of Congress is to send it to
one of his or her district offices. Visit our congressional directory
to find district office addresses and phone numbers.
If an urgent vote is coming up, phone calls to the DC office are the best way to get your message out in time.
SAMPLE LETTER
*
These letters give you an example of using a specific ask (a piece of legislation, a vote, etc.) that is
appropriate for your member of Congress. If you have a member of Congress who supports the legislation, you can thank them. If you have a member of Congress who is not yet supporting the legislation, you can ask them to *
For representatives cosponsoring H Res 1045, your letter could look like this:
Dear Rep. X,
I
am writing to thank you for cosponsoring H Res 1045. Reducing the number of nuclear weapons both in the US and around the world is a critical step to making Americans and the global community safer. Funding efforts to clean up loose nuclear weapons is a smart investment in our security.
Our current nuclear weapons policy does not adequately address the acquisition of nuclear weapons by terrorist groups, a real security threat to the nation. Because of this, former statesmen Shultz, Kissinger, Perry, and Nunn are calling for concrete steps towards global nuclear disarmament, including reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles. I would like to see you continue to support legislation that reduces the role of nuclear weapons in US policy.
Please write and let me know what further action you will take on this critical issue.
Sincerely,
[Your Name] [Your Address]
For representatives not cosponsoring H Res 1045, your letter could look like this:
Dear Rep. X,
I am writing to urge you to cosponsor H Res 1045. Our current nuclear weapons policy does not adequately address the acquisition of nuclear weapons by terrorist groups, a real security threat to the nation. Because of this, former statesmen Shultz, Kissinger, Perry, and Nunn are calling for concrete steps towards global nuclear disarmament, including reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles.
Reducing the number of nuclear weapons both in the US and around the world is a critical step to making Americans and the global community safer. Funding efforts to clean up loose nuclear weapons is a smart investment in our security. You can contribute to these efforts by cosponsoring H Res 1045.
Please write to let me know what action you will take on this critical issue.
