Do my messages reach Congress? Do they matter?
Take care with your letter!
“We hope to spend about as much time answering your communication as you spend sending it to us,”
~ A congressional staffer
The answer to both questions is yes. Messages you send through FCNL reach Congress. When they arrive, they have influence. Studies conducted by the Congressional Management Foundation show that 94% of congressional staff members polled say that emails have a lot or some influence.
Email Messages
Why do emails work?
Emails are a useful and speedy way to contact congress. Congressional staff confirm that emails are the best way to contact members of Cognress and studies show that 60% of indivualized emails have some influence on members of congress, while 34% have a lot of influence.
How do my emails reach Congress?
Congressional offices are still learning how to deal with the high volume of email they recieve every day. Most use web forms, but even these are changing frequently. FCNL makes sure your messages are successfully delivered. Our email provider tracks changes in how offices receive mail, and respond to them. Most emails are delivered within two attempts.
Postal Mail
Postal mail remains one of the most affective ways of communicating with congress. Congressional staffers report that 44% of postal letters have a lot of influence in their offices.
Why is email still preferable?
Postal mail takes far longer to reach members of Congress. Most pieces of mail take 9-11 days to reach congressional offices because of security measures.
How Can I Make My Messages Better?
A Few Quick Tips:
- Personalize your message - Explain who you are and why the issue is important to you. Including personal stories about yourself and the district makes you stand out to congressional staff.
- Be polite - Thank your legislator for previous votes, and courteously ask for her or his support on your issue.
- Be concise and make a specific request - Ask your legislator to cosponsor or vote yes or no on a specific bill.
Find more tips on Communicating with Congress ( PDF)
FCNL has many more resources on how to make your messages to Congress more influential. You can find them on our web site:
Even more information can be found in our October 2007 (PDF) and January 2006 (PDF) Washington Newsletters
Where are Congressional staff trained to respond to your messages? The Congressional Management Foundation .
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