Writing to Congress

(Written 8 Sept 2000 - Updated 3 Sept 2001)

To: NAATS rank and file members

From: Hal Gross, NAATS Legislative Representative

Subject: Writing to Members of Congress

Wally has asked me to provide some guidance to you in support of NAATS "grassroots" Campaign to break the impasse with the FAA over pay negotiations. Some of you may be frequent letter writers to Congress; others have never written to Congress before. To cover everyone, I�m starting at the most basic level. Please don�t be insulted; just read on and hopefully you�ll find something of use:

Here are some basic facts and "rules" for writing to Members of Congress:

1. Each individual is represented by three Members of Congress (unless you live in the District of Columbia): two United States Senators and one Representative. 
   Although the term "Member of Congress" technically applies to all three, it is frequently used to refer only to members of the House of Representatives, I will use the term to apply to all three. Writing to a Representative is much more likely to be effective then writing to a Senator, whose concerns are more generals, constituencies are larger, and time to deal with local issues more limited.
   

2. Each representative represents approximately 125,000 people. While not all constituents will have issues to write about, or will write even if they do have issues, those who do write can produce a significant amount of correspondence. 
   Although a well-managed Congressional office will produce at least an interim response within a reasonable period of time, don�t expect an immediate response to your letter For the busier offices, a three to four month response time is not unreasonable. The result is that often the issue has cooled off before the response is received.
   

3. Write each letter to a single Member. Don�t send lots of copies to lots of Members. While sending copies may produce more paper, it tends to trivialize the letter. Worse, it may cause the Member to assume that someone else will handle the response. Usually, only the original letter will get the attention you want.
   

4. A "grassroots" campaign need not produce letters from a majority of the Member�s constituents to be effective. It is sufficient for the Member to realize that a significant number of people are concerned. I have seen a case where a single well-written letter, properly documented, prompted a Senator to introduce a bill within a few days (which ended up being enacted into law some four years later.) But this was a very unusual case, While the NAATS membership within any one district may be small, NAATS members also belong to churches, service clubs, associations, aviation organizations, etc. An effective grassroots campaign will use all of these resources, by attending meetings, spreading the word, enlisting support, and getting other people to write letters to Members of Congress, the purpose of which is to demonstrate to the Members that the support for NAATS position is important to, and goes far beyond, NAATS itself.
   

5. Write to a Member who has, or should have, a specific interest in the issue you are raising. 
   This means: 
   Write to the Member in whose district you live or vote. 
   Write to a Member in whose district your workplace is located, even though you might not live in that district. 
   Write to the Chairman, ranking member, a Member who serves on a Committee (or better yet, subcommittee) with jurisdiction over the subject matter of your letter, or who has demonstrated specific interest in the issue your letter raises. 
   Know why you have written to that Member, and emphasize that reason in your letter. Do not write to a Member who has none of the above qualifications, or whose position is known to be, or is likely to be, hostile to the position you are taking.
   

6. How to address correspondence: When writing to a Member, the correct form of address is, as follows: 

   To a Senator:

   The Honorable Dudley B. Doright 

   United States Senate

   Washington, DC 20510

   To a House Member: 

   The Honorable Jason P. Dogleash

   U.S. House of Representatives

   Washington, DC 20515

Although the correct form of address is Dear Senator Doright, or Dear Representative Dogleash, mail addressed to the Member by his first name is usually treated differently from mail addressed formally. So called "First-name mail" is often treated as though it were more important than ordinary mail. The same applies to so-called "letterhead" mail, that is mail on the letterhead of a business, union, or other organization. As a result, your letter should be "first-named" as soon as there is any reasonable justification for doing so: eg., You wrote previously, and the Member wrote back "Dear Bob". You met the Member last week at a reception, and exchanged first names, etc. Similarly, your letter should be on the stationary of the largest organization for whom you have authority to write.

Exceptions: When addressing the Chair of a Committee (or subcommittee), the correct form of address is Dear Mr. Chairman (or Madam Chairwoman).

• Begin your letter with a clear, concise statement of the issue you are addressing. (In larger offices, mail is usually sorted by subject matter. A letter on stalemated wage negotiations will usually get a far more sympathetic response from the staff member assigned to labor issues than from the staff person assigned to transportation issues (who got the letter because it was on the letterhead of a "transportation union", e.g.. NAATS.}
  

• Do not ask the Member for more than he is likely to provide, do not threaten, or make promises you cannot keep, and, while it is often useful to word your letter so that the Member knows you care deeply about the issue, always remain polite. Also, be as succinct as possible, while carefully making your case. No letter should be longer than two pages, and one page is better than two.
  

• Make sure that the letter tells the full story. Do not assume that the Member has, or can get information, which he may not have. The letter may be the only information available to a Member. It must be persuasive, concise, and accurate.
  

• If you have personal information which substantiates your case, include it. The best letter will have one or two personal examples which prove the case. But edit your letter to make sure it does not waste words.
  

• Write about only one issue in each letter. For example, do not write about your social security problem in a letter dealing with NAATS wage negotiations. If necessary, write two separate letters.
  

• A form letter will get a form response, and is unlikely to have any impact on the Member. A carefully crafted individual letter which follows the above guidelines may have impact, particularly if there are enough of them to persuade the Member that there is a federal problem in his constituency with which he must deal.

 

House Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Service

Republicans:	Democrats:
Joe Scarborough (FL) Chair	Danny K. Davis, (IL) Ranking Member
Dave Weldon, (FL) Vice Chair	Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
John Mica (FL)	Major R. Owens, (NY)
Connie A. Morella (MD)	Elijah Cummings (MD)
Mark E. Souder, (IN)
C.L. "Butch" Otter, (ID)

House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation

Republicans:	Democrats:
John L. Mica, (FL) Chair	William O. Lipinski (IL) Ranking Member
Thomas E. Petri, (WI)	Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
John J. Duncan, Jr., (TN)	Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX)
Stephen Horn, (CA)	Leonard L. Boswell (IA)
Jack Quinn (NY)	John E. Baldacci (ME)
Vernon Ehlers (MI)	Peter A. DeFazio (OR)
Spencer Bachus (AL)	Jerry F. Costello (IL)
Sue W. Kelly, (NY)	Robert Menendez (NJ)
Richard H. Baker, (LA)	Corrine Brown (FL)
Asa Hutchinson (AR)	Juanita Millender-McDonald (CA)
John C. Cooksey (LA)	Max A. Sandlin (TX)
John R. Thune (SD)	Ellen O Tauscher (CA)
Frank A. LoBiondo(NJ)	Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ)
Jerry Moran (KS)	Tim Holden (PA)
Michael K. Simpson (IN)	Nicholas V. Lampson (TX)
Johnny Isakson (GA)	Shelley Berkley, (NV)
Robin Hayes, (NC)	Brad Carson, (OK)
Mark Steven Kirk, (IL)	Jim Matheson, (UT)
Timothy V. Johnson, (IL)	Michael M. Honda, (CA)
Dennis R. Rehberg, (MT)	Nick J. Rahall II (WV)
Sam Graves, (MO)	James L. Oberstar, (MN)(ex officio)
Mark R. Kennedy, (MN)
John Abney Culberson, (TX)
Bill Shuster, (PA)
Don Young, (AK)(ex officio)