These pages should provide you with the tools and information
you need to contact your Representatives and ask them to Co-Sponsor H.R.
128. You can find general information on getting started, questions/talking
points for Representatives and Senators, guidelines for writing your letter
or emails, and general information on the legislative process so you don’t
get confused. I recommend you read all the information before proceeding…
even for the more experienced lobbyists there are some good tips. Once
you've decided on the method, click the buttons on the left to continue.
Getting Started
Contacting your Members of Congress is much easier than you think...
after all, it is their job to represent you. An easy site for this
purpose is Congress.org:
Identify and contact your elected officials. There you can type in
your zip code and a list of your Congressman and Senators will be provided.
From here you can "e-mail" or get "info" to write
or call your Representatives.
E-mail is the most common form of congressional correspondence,
but often your message and its importance can be overlooked. Hand written
letters have extra impact, but please be sure to write legibly and get
your point across clearly and concisely. Congressmen and their staff have
a lot of letters to read and if you don’t make it easy for them to understand
what you want (ask your Representative to Co-Sponsor H.R. 128),
you can end up getting a generic non-response that says your Congressman
will consider your thoughts should it come before him/her on the House
Floor for a vote. Good examples of letters to your Representatives are
provided under the "Sample Letters" button to the left.
Calling is an easy way to go.. You can usually speak with the
staff that makes these kinds of decisions and get the ball rolling right
away. The questions/talking points provided under the "Talking Points"
button tto the left will pretty much give you all the information you
need and get your message across. All you need to provide is the emotion,
and hopefully that won’t be too hard. The following numbers will direct
you to the House or Senate operator, who can direct your call to your
Representatives (after you know his/her name).
House Operator: (202) 225-3121
Senate Operator: (202) 224-3121
You can’t beat a face-to-face visit. If you can make the trip to
D.C., it’s not impossible to get a meeting with your Representatives.
Many Congressman and Senators even hold weekly or monthly meetings with
constituents to discuss varying issues and/or problems, but you’ll have
to contact their office or visit their website for more information. If
you’re not able to meet with your Representative, their staff is often
more than glad to do so. Staff can usually devote more time to your issue
and sometimes can be even more helpful than the Congressman. Just be sure
you’re talking to the right person: see the "Talking Points"
button to the left.
See who has Co-Cponsored this legislation already, and find out who the
most important Members to contact are by clicking the buttons to the left
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