Thanks, Betty.  I emailed Rep. David Burr last week; have yet to hear back
from his office but I think it's early days yet.

Kat
----- Original Message -----
From: "Betty B" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 5:58 PM
Subject: Writing Your Representative in US Congress


> 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