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Writing a Member of Congress

Communication with Congress is a surprisingly complicated subject, as complicated as the Congress itself. There are countless different situations and reasons to write. For every situation and reason, there's a rule of thumb, for every rule, an exception.

On the other hand, people do it every day, and the available channels of communication are increasing. Telephones and letters and telegrams have now been supplemented by fax machines in most offices. Some members are even getting e-mail addresses, though staff members, by and large, have not yet figured out how to cope with either the potential volume of e-mail nor how to interpret the idiosyncrasies of much e-mail. Member and committee offices are flooded daily with communication, ranging from several page single-spaced essays, to crayon scribblings on paper bags, from thoughtful analyses to hate mail.

This essay offers some suggestions of strategy and ways to increase the likelihood a letter would have impact. But, it can only be a guide. The Washington staff of research associations or university congressional liaison offices can be useful resources about the state of an issue and they can suggest the best timing and targets for letters. Don't hesitate to ask them for help. A politically aware and active membership is a vital resource. On the other hand, don't be too tied down to some political action agenda. The most effective political letters can be spontaneous, not arising from some letter writing campaign, but from the basic desire of voters to let their representative know what they think.

A final caution. The Internet has increased the ease with which groups with a political agenda can start letter writing campaigns on any number of subjects. Have care before jumping too quickly on some band wagon, no matter how righteous it seems.

In the first place, it is usually the person or group soliciting the letter that is characterizing the bill or the issue. But, it is not always so easy to predict what side we would want to be on, were we to understand the problem more fully. You need either to have a good reason to trust the source or to get an independent evaluation. Nothing can cut into your credibility faster than flaming Members of Congress for something they aren't even considering doing. (At CRA, we spend a lot of time scotching inflammatory but untrue network rumors about some supposed congressional action or other. In politics, reality is bad enough!)

Furthermore, even if the issue is real and you are on the "right" side of it, you can use up all your time (and claim for attention) chasing every supposed threat to life, liberty and the pursuit of research. Thousands of bills are submitted every year and only a small fraction of them are serious or have a chance of passing.

It actually can work

The most important point to make about writing Congress is that it can have an effect. It is a common assumption that letter writing is a meaningless exercise, effort wasted preaching to the birds, and deaf ones at that. In fact, well-timed, informed, and clearly written letters can have an affect on political decisions.

On issues that are not on the major agenda, either because it is early in the debate or because the issue seems to be less partisan, members and their staff may be interested in expert opinion. But, even when the members have made up their minds, or taken public positions, letters (or phone calls) will tell them whether it has cost them or gained them a vote in the next election. And, they do care about that!

Most congressional offices keep tallies of constituent positions on issues for exactly that reason. The common wisdom is that Washington is out of touch with its constituents. The reality is that most successful members of Congress are very closely attuned to public opinion in their districts, in large part because of the daily flood of communication they receive from back home.

The impact of a letter is, of course, cumulative. Rarely are there instant conversions. But, there are fewer writers than voters, but a person who takes the time to write is a likely voter.

Which Office?

A member of Congress has several offices to which correspondence can be directed, the personal office and the offices of the several committees on which he or she sits.

It matters because, of course, the Member is unlikely to actually see the letter. Rather, it will be handled by staff. And, committee staff and personal office staff have quite different roles and concerns. Which is best, depends on both the writer and the purpose of the letter.

The personal office is concerned with the political survival of the member, and much of their work is focused on constituent service. This, if you are writing as a constituent, particularly as a supporter or as a campaign contributor, the letter will usually carry particular weight with personal staff.

The personal office also helps the member deal with the myriad of issues that come to the floor for debate or votes each day, tracking them and weighing them against the member's views, political interests, and commitments. So, if a bill of interest were out of committee and headed to the floor for vote, it would be a great time to write and say whether you would like it passed or not. Note that these are not complicated messages. A simple phone call, a fax, or a wire with a very short message ("Vote for HR zzzz" or "vote for so-and-so's amendment to HR xxxx") is about all that's required. If it's headed for the floor, the time for subtlety has usually passed. The average member has reduced the question to an up and down vote.

Most of the actual work of crafting legislation takes place in committees, usually in subcommittees. If you are trying to influence how that process goes, you need to write to the committee, usually the committee chair and ranking minority. Usually that person will not be your own representative, and you are usually writing as an expert or as an official or unofficial representative of a broader group of stakeholders--say, the computing research community. These letters tend to be more elaborate, containing more detailed arguments and examples.

If the chair of the committee or subcommittee also happens to be your own representative, there is a particularly valuable connection to exploit, and, depending on the issues, associations spend a lot of time looking for such connections between their members and issues they are tracking. This works both ways, of course. Members, when deciding which subcommittees they wish to chair, also look for links with their constituents. Someone from a rural area may want to chair an agriculture subcommittee, while someone with a military base in his or her district may want influence on the defense committees.

The Letter

Having decided to write, three key questions need to be addressed. The answers not only dictate the nature of the letter and where it should be sent, but constitute a pretty good outline of the letter itself.

1. First, in what capacity are you writing? You could be writing as a

• constituent, a voter telling your representative your views of some issue, regardless of your direct stake in it.
• "stakeholder," someone directly affected by a policy decision, a researcher writing about levels of Federal research funding, for example.
• expert, someone who has particular and specialized knowledge about the issue under debate.
• representative of some group. In this case, you are writing not your personal views, but reflecting the collective views of the group you are speaking for.

2. Secondly, what are your concerns? What is the issue, and what do you think about it? There is a continuum of possibilities, here. Perhaps the issue is not even on the agenda, now, and you are simply writing to draw political attention to it. At the other extreme, a bill that you care deeply about one way or the other, is coming up for a vote shortly. For most legislative issues, the trip between these two extreme points can take many years with many stops in between.

3. What are you asking for? Again, there is a wide variety of possibilities. You want a bill introduced, amended, killed, voted up or down?

Perhaps you are not writing about any specific bill or making a request at all. Perhaps you are simply introducing yourself or you organization and offering to help--to provide information or analysis of some complicated technological issue or to invite the Member to tour some laboratory facilities and see some technology in action (and get a photo opportunity in the bargain).

Maybe you are writing that most rare but most appreciated latter, a "thank you" or commendation for something the Member has done. In voting or amending virtually any bill-- increasing funding for research, protecting the integrity of a science agency, or supporting an important program--the member has irked someone. Irked people tend to speak up. That's the nature of politics. But, the Member rarely hears that the research constituency is aware of and appreciates the actions. A "thank you note" can be a very effective gesture.

Conclusion

The best letters to Congress have four points as their basic structure:

Who are you?

What are you concerned about?

What new information, if any, can you shed on the debate?

What do you want done or to do?

It's a simple and effective formula, but one that is often missed in practice.