Tips For Letter Writing
Members of Congress were elected to help their constituents, so please donít be shy about contacting them regarding issues that will affect you. An opinion on current legislation receives more attention than general observation.
Here are a few things to keep in mind in your communication with legislators:
1. Be Specific – Reference the bill by number and specifics (H.R. 2505 – College Loan Assistance Act 2003). You may also want to include links to websites with further information, such as the Support H.R. 2505 Online Petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/CLAA2003/ and the CollegeLoanAssistanceAct.Org message board at http://pub152.ezboard.com/bcollegeloanassistanceact.
2. Keep it Brief – Staffers receive a lot of mail for their representatives, keep your point simple.
3. Be Reasonable – Reason will make a better argument than dramatic language.
4. Ask for Feedback – Ask your legislator to contact you with their position and actions on the issue, you are entitled to know.
5. In all correspondence please include your address so that your representative identifies you as a constituent.
These days, most legislators can be reached by email or fax, but it is still better to write your representative a letter on personal letterhead. Type the letter for clarity, and be sure to include your address on the letter itself, because your envelopes will be thrown away. If you feel comfortable calling your representative, they all have offices in your area as well as in Washington, D.C. You can find any Representative or Senator through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. In addition, if you are in D.C., many legislators hold weekly constituent breakfasts, coffees, etc where you could have an opportunity to speak personally with your representatives.
As to why writing letters is important, the immediate goal of CollegeLoanAssistanceAct.Org is to get the bill out of House Committee and before the entire House for a vote. Our long term goal is the passing of the House Bill, creation and passage of similar legislation in the Senate, creation of media attention and relief for millions of borrowers paying unnecessarily high student loan interest rates. The more constituents make noise to their representatives about these issues, the more likely it is that our goals will be realized.