Hey All,

I said I would get back to you on some ideas about what to include in
correspondence to legislators.

Making this project more difficult than necessary, the way I've done most
things in my life, I decided to call somebody on the hill. After all, what's
the point of living around the corner from them if I'm not going to bug them
personally?

I spoke with a nice fellow named Paul, and the following is what came from
our conversation.  He reminded me -- I should add -- that the offices of
Congressman do not all have the same policies, but gave me what he felt were
general "rule's of thumb."  Paul handles the correspondence in the office of
the Representative he works for, so he seemed like a good place to go for
information.

They tend to give priority to correspondence drafted by the constituent
himself.  Form letters, especially those signed on behalf of another, do not
carry as much credibility.

It's better to use your own words.  The Memphis Center for Independent Living
(MCIL) has a great website devoted to MiCASSA.  That might be a good place to
go for overall information about MiCASSA.  Perhaps you can glean something
from that.

They often get correspondence saying the person's name and that they want
their representative to support HR whatever the number is (3612, in the case
of MiCASSA).  They do listen to these requests, even if they are limited in
content.  After all, the request is coming from a voting constituent.  If the
constituent is contacting him, it's a fair bet that he's the kind of fellow
who is going to show up to vote in the next election too.

If you can give good reasons for your Rep to support the bill, all the
better.  They like to see how changes brought about by a proposed bill can
help you or others.

Two people I spoke with today -- the other works in the Office of the Clerk
-- have confirmed that snail mail is not anyone's best friend on Capitol Hill
right now.  I'm sure that doesn't come as a shock.  The fellow in the Clerk's
office, Kevin, said that they are just now getting some mail from October.
Paul said that his office is experiencing about a five week delay in written
correspondence.

E-mail and phone calling are the best options, and I gathered from our
conversation that they prefer e-mail to faxes where possible.

While I was speaking with this fellow Paul, I reminded him of situations in
the disability community where those who can benefit from MiCASSA the most
are the ones least likely to have reasonable access to a means by which they
can contact their representative.  We talked about intimidation and learned
helplessness.  We talked about the great number and variety of abuses that
occur in nursing homes and institutions. I wasn't about to waste that phone
call.  He was too open to hear the information.  If he didn't know a lot
about the need for MiCASSA before I called, he did after.

That's the low down of my morning.  I hope something here is helpful.  Again,
you can find your legislator's e-mail or other contact address at

www.house.gov/writerep