An effective way to communicate your concerns with your elected officials is by writing a letter. Phone calls are the quickest method of communication, but unless your elected official is available to speak with you, your concerns will be relayed to him or her through a staff member. In this way, neither your message nor your personal touch reaches your legislator directly.
Writing a letter is simple and is, in fact, the most popular method of reaching a member of Congress. When drafting a letter, please bear in mind these few basic suggestions:
Be Direct: State the purpose of writing your elected officials in the first paragraph of the letter.
Be Accurate: If your letter concerns a specific piece of legislation, identify it as such, e.g., House bill: H.R. (number), Senate bill: S. (number). The Library of Congress provides a website that will assist you in researching a House or Senate bill number. Please visit the Library of Congress web site and HIMSS Legislative Action Center.
Be Concise: Keep the letter to one page, if possible.
Be Efficient: Email or fax your letter, as opposed to mailing it. Mail typically takes four to six weeks to reach your legislator's desk. Legislators' fax numbers and other write your legislator tools can be obtained by using HIMSS Legislative Action Center.
Direct correspondence to the President as follows:
The Honorable (Name)
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone Numbers |
TTY/TDD |
Send your comments to comments@whitehouse.gov. Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House cannot respond to every message. For further up-to-date information on Presidential initiatives, current events, and topics of interest to you, use the White House website.
Direct correspondence to your Senator as follows:
The Honorable (Name)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510Dear Senator (Name)
Direct correspondence to your Representative as follows:
The Honorable (Name)
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515Dear Representative (Name)
When addressing the Chair of a Committee or the Speaker of the House:
Dear Mr. Chairman or Madam Chairwoman:
Dear Mr. Speaker:
Direct correspondence to your State Legislators as follows:
Delegate (Name)
(Name of State) Legislature
City, State (zip code)Senator (Name)
(Name of state) Legislature
City, State (zip code)
