How to Write A Letter To My Congressman

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By jaymierp
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Article Rating: (4 Ratings)

Take a pen and paper and write

Do you have opinions that you want to share with your congressman, but don't feel you can communicate them properly? Writing a letter can to your representative is simple. This article will have you writing letters in no time!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

an active email address
or pen and paper
know your local representative by their district.

Step 1

Find the right websites

First, you must know who your local representatives are and what district you live in so that you send your correspondence to the proper person. You can go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt and put your zip code into the form on this website to find out who represents you in congress. You can also go to http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd to find your representatives and the districts they hold office in for your state. You can write to your House of Representative and your Senator. They both should know your opinions on legislation that pass through the House and the Senate.
Step 2

writing to congress

Start your letter out boldly stating the reason you are writing. You want to catch their attention in the first few words of the sentence. Most mail is read first by an intern or other person. You want your letter to stand out among the rest so be bold in your opening statement. Know the bill number or legislation that you are writing in reference to so that you can state your opinion. You can keep track of legislation at http://www.congress.org and even sign up for email alerts. For example: Dear Sir: Why during this down economy are you proposing this Cap and Trade legislation that will effect many Americans and cause more expense versus My name is blank and I am writing about etc, this is not going to catch anyone's eye or keep wanting to read on about your situation.
Step 3

affix proper postage to envelope

Start out locally with your letter, write to the representative that covers your district and area. If, you feel you want to write to the President of the United States, do so as simply and factually as you did to your congressman. The President of the United States should know how all Americans feel about his policy and what bills get signed and vetoed on his desk.
If hand writing your letter make sure you have the proper mailing address to the appropriate person. Be sure to affix the proper amount of postage to your envelope. If emailing your letter you can gather that information at http://www.congress.org
Step 4

Keep your letter simple and down to one page. Following your opening statement with the topic sentence and at least three sentences to explain your opinion, move to the next paragraph where you request action with a bold statement and followed by at least three sentences that explain why you feel this way. This will allow the reader to understand what you want and how you feel about the legislation or situation you are writing about. Make your letter personal about your situation and let the reader know if you are feeling positive or negative. Congressmen serve the people and like to hear positive feedback as well as critical feedback.

Comments

link82 said

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on 11/24/2009 That is pretty informative. 5*

Mindee94 said

on 7/8/2009 Having a voice and making it heard, it is the only way. Thanks for these great tips. The link to finding the congressmen is great for those who may not know who or where to send there statements. Thanks, ~Mindee