Congressional offices pay more attention to personal
communications from constituents than any other source. In fact, an
average of 75 percent of offices pay a great deal or quite a bit of
attention to communications from constituents.
Congressional offices pay more attention to personal
communications from constituents than any other source. In fact, an
average of 75 percent of offices pay a great deal or quite a bit of
attention to communications from constituents.
l The best way to gain the attention of congressional staffs is to contact
them personally, either by letter, telephone call, or office visit.
Personal letters, whether prompted or not, are the most effective form of
communication. Indeed, 90 percent of offices pay a great deal or quite a
bit of attention to spontaneous mail
from constituents.
l Congressional offices report a greater volume of incoming communications
in 1991 than they did in the survey conducted 10 years ago. This is true
for over 80 percent of the types of communications tested in this survey.
l The increasing number of communications flowing into
congressional offices means staff members are more pressed than
ever to address the volume. This puts more pressure on those who
communicate with Congress to keep their messages short and
informative.
l Issue advertising in national daily newspapers and communicating
by fax and videotape receive less attention than other types
of communication. The consensus among congressional
staff in the 170 offices contacted was that the following “rules” are important in
effective communications:
l Keep it local. The local constituency is, obviously, most important to the
member of Congress. In establishing priorities in communications, this
fact is more decisive than any other.
l Keep it personal. Personal forms of communication indicate a greater
amount of effort, and the more obvious the effort, the more seriously
the communication is taken.
l Keep it concise. Given the busy nature of congressional offices, the more
concise the communication, the more likely it is to receive attention.
l Put it in writing. Hard copy provides a readily available record in the office
that can be used whenever a staff member addresses the issue
Some legislators downgrade the importance of a letter if they think it has
been motivated by an organization as part of a campaign so letters on plain
stationery or on your personal or business letterhead may get greater attention than
a letter on your nonprofit’s letterhead.
Do, however, mention your nonprofit group if you are fairly certain that it will
strengthen the impact of your letter.
Handwritten letters are fine, as long as they are legible. They often get more
attention than typed letters. (Legislators know that a machine cannot produce a
handwritten letter.)
Keep your letter to one page. Put it in your own words, avoid bold words or
jargon, and use only those acronyms that you are very certain the legislator will
know. Cover only one issue per letter. In the first paragraph, ask for the action that
you want your legislator to take. Send enclosures if you think more information
is needed. Relevant editorials and news stories from local papers in the legislator’s
district will get his or her attention.
Identify the legislation clearly, with the bill number of the legislation if you know
it, and sign your letter over your typed or printed name.
Ask the legislator to reply, and ask very directly whether he or she will
support your position. Legislators are masters of nonreplies—that is, letters
that avoid giving you their positions. To smoke out his or her position, be as direct
as possible while still being courteous.
Like everyone else, legislators dislike a threatening tone. Chances are excellent
that your legislator will be very aware of the political fallout of not voting for your
proposal, and so it serves no useful purpose to even hint about it. Keep in
mind the old saying that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.
Be certain that the legislator’s name is spelled correctly and that the address is
right. Envelopes get detached, so put your return address on the letter. Be certain
that your legislator receives the letter before the vote.
Thank the legislator. Legislative staffers repeatedly say that legislators
seldom receive thanks. Sending your thanks is the right thing to do and is a
great way to strengthen a relationship. But also write to let the legislator know if
you disapprove of the way he or she has voted. That will get attention, too.
Provide copies of any replies you receive to the leaders and government
relations committee of your nonprofit. It is useful to keep them up-to-date on
where the legislator stands and on whether to keep pressure on him or her.
Don’t overstate your nonprofit’s influence; it will only detract from your
message.
Do let your legislator know the size and mission of your group, however.
Legislators are very aware of how much attention to pay to almost every group in
their districts, so don’t overstate—or understate. Just give the facts.
Send letters only to your own legislator, unless you are the president
of a group with members from other legislative districts. Even then, it is well to
keep in mind that legislators tend to pay only limited attention to mail from
outside their districts.
There have been mixed reviews of postcards, sample letters, and similar
communications produced in centrally organized efforts to mobilize grassroots
support on issues. Some discount the impact of postcards and “canned” letters.
Others hold that they can be helpful. As Common Cause advises, any letter is
better than none. That’s still good advice.
If you are part of a coalition and most of the coalition
members already have sent letters regarding the legislative issue your group
is tackling, you may want to take two additional steps: 1) Compose a sign-on
letter that all members of the coalition, and others, will sign and send it to all
members of the legislative body addressing your issue; 2) have each coalition member
send a support letter with a “Dear Legislator” salutation to the coalition
leader, who in turn will send all of the letters in one packet to the legislative
body. Both are helpful in supplementing personal letters but they should not be
seen as a replacement for them.
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