Small Business Center Chamber/Associations Media Center Issues and Advocacy Members
 
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  Create a profile.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
 
    

Communication Tips

Tips On Telephoning Your Legislator

Using VoteForBusiness, you will be given the phone number of U.S. and state legislators. You can use "Legislator Search" if you need to know a legislator's phone number. You can also reach U.S. legislators through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Staff members usually handle calls to the legislator's office. Therefore it is important to ask to speak with the staff member who handles your issue of interest. Be sure to identify yourself and request to leave a brief message with the legislator that states the purpose of your call, e.g. "Please tell Senator/Representative (Name) that I support/oppose (S.___/H.R.___)."

Also, it is important to state the reasons why you support or oppose the bill. You may ask for your legislator's position on the bill if it is not known and you may also request a written response to your telephone call/message.


Tips On Writing Your Legislator

The letter is still one of the more widely used methods of communicating with a legislator's office. Writing a letter gives you, as a constituent, the opportunity to express and defend your position on an issue. Your letter will be most effective if you follow a few simple guidelines:

  1. Your purpose for writing should be stated in the first paragraph of the letter. If your letter pertains to a specific piece of legislation, identify it accordingly, e.g., House bill: H. R. ____, Senate bill: S.____.
  2. Be courteous. Even if the legislator has taken positions you disagree with, be respectful.
  3. Get to the point quickly, and address only one issue in each letter. As a rule of thumb, it is best to limit your letter to one page.
  4. Be sure to include information and your own personal reasons for supporting or opposing a piece of legislation. Legislators are not only influenced by who supports legislation, but also why.
  5. When writing to the Chair of a Committee or the Speaker of the House, it is proper to address them as Mr. Chairman or Mr. Speaker (or Madam Chairman or Speaker).
Click here to view an example letter

Tips On Emailing An Elected Official

In general, the same guidelines for writing a letter apply to email messages. With an email message to a legislator, however, it is very important to include your street address in the email. This is the only way a legislator has of knowing that you are a constituent. In some instances, emails without street addresses may not receive a response. You can use "Legislator Search" if you need to know a legislator's email address.

 

Urge your legislators to support the U.S. Colombia Free Trade Agreement when it comes before Congress
Urge your legislators to support the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement when it comes before Congress.  It’s a “fair trade” agreement that will bring real benefits to American workers, farmers, and companies.
>More Information
>Take Action

Government mandated mental health coverage may increase costs and threaten coverage
Urge your Representative to oppose H.R. 1424 and support Senate-passed S.558

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with a broad coalition of leading associations and healthcare groups, is working hard to oppose H.R. 1424, the Kennedy-Ramstad Mental Health Parity bill.  H.R. 1424 is scheduled for a vote on the House floor THIS WEEK.  We need you to contact Congress TODAY and urge your member to oppose H.R. 1424 and support S.558 as unanimously passed by the Senate.
>More Information
>Take Action

Support the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement
The U.S.-Korea FTA was signed by the U.S. and Korean governments on June 30, 2007.  The most commercially significant U.S. trade deal in more than a decade, the FTA will bring important economic benefits and opportunities to U.S. businesses, farmers, and workers by immediately opening new access for U.S. goods and services in Korea—one of the world's largest and most dynamic economies.
>More Information
>Take Action

Wake Up to Climate Change
On December 5, the Senate will try to move the Lieberman-Warner climate bill through committee and to the Senate floor. According to the Washington Post, this bill will require an across-the-board Transformation of the American way of life.
>More Information
>Take Action

States Rights at Risk in Farm Bill
The House-passed Farm Bill (H.R. 2149) includes a provision (Section 4015) that prohibits states from utilizing private sector companies to improve the service and efficiency of their Food Stamp Program. Now the Senate is set to take up the Farm Bill and may pass a similar provision to the House’s Section 4015.
>More Information
>Take Action

Highway Trust Fund Near Crisis
Our surface transportation system is becoming increasingly congested and in many places is in disrepair. If nothing changes, the Highway Trust Fund will have a negative $4.3 billion balance in fiscal year 2009. Congress must find either $4.3 billion in additional revenues or cut highway spending by four times that amount in order to preserve the Highway Trust Fund.
>More Information
>Take Action

Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
In Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Supreme Court said that the filing period for claims of discrimination starts when a decision is made and communicated to the employee. The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would overturn the Court’s decision, eliminating statutes of limitation, but it would also alter other employment laws, increase frivolous lawsuits, and make it harder to resolve cases in a timely manner.
>More Information
>Take Action

House Energy Package Threatens Energy Supplies
The House approved the full energy package, 241-172, as one of its last acts before heading home until Labor Day. The vote broke down largely along party lines, with 26 Republicans joining the Democratic majority in approval and nine Democrats voting against the bill.
>More Information

No Child Left Behind Act Reauthorization
The U.S. Chamber believes the No Child Left Behind Act is one of the critical tools needed to transform U.S. education so that all students graduate academically prepared for college, citizenship, and the 21st century workplace.  Ask your legislators to support NCLB reauthorization efforts that go beyond the current Act.
>More Information
>Take Action

Write your Members of Congress
Send a letter to your Members of Congress on any issue.  Don't forget to include the bill number or describe the issue.
>More Information
>Take Action