How to Call a Member of Congress With Broken Phones
Now it is difficult to get through to your representatives. Their offices are slammed shut, their telephones are broken. As a concerned citizen, how can you get your message across to the end? We spoke to some of the staff to find out.
You have two Senators from your state and a House Representative from your district. You can help them understand what issues are important to you and why you want them to vote for or against a particular bill.
Phone calls are still the loudest, but email is the best solution.
I live in Pennsylvania, so I’m represented by one of the hardest to reach senators , Pat Toomey. We usually tell you that a phone call is the best way to express your opinion, but most of the time, my calls just go to voicemail and then the inbox fills up.
I actually got through to the person today and asked her how best to get my message across. She said that an email should be sent through a form on the senator’s website, as these messages go directly to the staff member in Washington who is working on the topic.
Emily Ellsworth, a former employee who wrote the famous tweet series and detailed guide explaining why you should call, not write , agreed that sending an email – straight from the heart, not a formal letter – is your next best choice. She pointed out another benefit of using a website to submit it: your contact information is added to their system, allowing employees to see that you are an integral part when you call. You will also likely be added to their mailing list to help you learn about community meetings and other opportunities to contribute.
Try all district offices
If you still want to speak to an employee, remember that your congressman has more than one office. Apart from a large office in Washington DC, they will have multiple offices in their state or district. The DC office will have staff on a variety of topics, but local offices will only have a handful of people. Plus they are less busy. You are a voter if you live anywhere in the state (for senators) or counties (for representatives), so feel free to call any of the offices to get your message across. Contact information for all of them is on the congressman’s website.
Do not litter the phones of people from other states
When you call, make sure you only call people who really represent you. For example, if you want to share your opinion with Paul Ryan, you should not call his offices unless you actually live in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District . His staff will not take care of you if you are not in his area.
But in the case of Ryan and other people with special jobs, you have another option. Anyone in the country can give their opinion to the Speaker of the House by filling out the form on speaker.gov . If you have an opinion on what a congressional committee should do, each committee usually has an office with a telephone number; call this committee , do not wiretap the offices of its members.
Why should you target your calls correctly? Imagine trying to get through to Senator Toomey. His lines are packed with people who think they can influence his vote, but my neighbors and I can’t get through. In addition, according to Ellsworth, “it makes them think the groups are hiring people to make calls from out of state.”
If you really want to influence someone, but you are not their constituency, talk to people you know who live in the respective state or area. Have them pick up the phone and call to report their concerns. You can also donate your time and money to nationwide groups that serve a cause you care about; they will have contacts in these distant states.
Finally, if you are worried about what someone’s representative is doing, call your representative and ask what they are doing to confront that person and represent you.
Try faxing and other creative ways to get your message across
Delivering a pizza with a message as above to a legislator’s office is risky. There are strict rules as to when staff can accept a gift . Ellsworth tells me that food and flowers were usually accepted at her office, but I’ve also heard of employees who refuse a box of donuts because they wanted to be wrong about being careful.
Social media is another way that is less effective than you might think. Usually, Facebook and Twitter accounts are run by different people, not employees who count calls and emails, so your message won’t necessarily get through (especially since it’s not easy to prove you are a voter). It can still be a great way to spread the word to other citizens, but don’t count on the congressman to personally read your tweets.
Faxes are another way to get your message across, but Ellsworth warns that in some offices, faxes are simply sent to a digital mailbox. This makes them no more attractive than an email. And if they don’t have a return address, there’s no way to tell if the faxes are coming from a real user, making them easier to delete and slowing down their delivery to the right employee because someone has to sort them.
However, an employee of Senator Toomey (the lawmaker who most often faxes ) told me that their office in Pittsburgh does have a real fax machine. So expect this one to change – and perhaps don’t rely on it as your only means of communication.
Request an appointment
Meeting an employee in person is a great way to get your message across, but it must be relevant and helpful. “Have something other than ‘I want to yell at you,’” Ellsworth says.
For example, if you have an opinion on health care, bring together a group of doctors to talk about how the Affordable Care Act affects their practice. “We’ve met this group a few times,” says Ellsworth. Teachers, academics, and anyone with experience in a particular industry fall into this category. If you do bring a group, keep it small: Ellsworth recommends three to five people.
You have a better chance of gaining the attention of staff if you focus on a topic of concern to congress participants. To find out what these areas are, look at which accounts they sponsored ( 4USXUS is one way to track this ) and what committees they are on . Be sure to also subscribe to their newsletter or Facebook page.
The next voting opportunity will come sooner than you think
Voting is the best way to express your political opinion. It looks like we just swore allegiance to a new group of Senators and Representatives, but you can vote again before you know. While the president is elected for a four-year term, Congress operates on a different schedule:
- Senators serve for a six-year term. One third of them are re-elected every two years. This means that in 2018 we have a chance to vote for (or against) 33 of them.
- The term of office of representatives is two years. All of them will be re-elected in 2018.
This 270 to Win tool shows which senators will be re-elected in 2018 and how likely they are to win. Don’t wait for the November elections either: each party holds primaries at the beginning of the year. Removing the incumbent is difficult, so start this effort as early as possible by reaching out to local political parties to see how you can help.