Letters to Congress

Dear Madame L,

Taking your advice, I wrote the following letter to my Member of Congress:

[Congressperson's Name Here]:

Please vote IN FAVOR OF the tax-relief bill the Senate has just passed.

Even though it's only for 2 months, it's better than nothing. I wish you and your party would stop trying to make life harder for people like me and my family.It may be just politics to you, a lot of game-playing, but to me it means money that my family needs.

I can't believe that House Leader Boehner thinks he can get away with this kind of maneuvering. The only reason it works is that people like you are willing to go along with it, instead of representing the people of your district.

PLEASE start representing ALL OF US in the Third District, and stop kowtowing to the rich people.

You were not elected in order to get Pres. Obama out of office (the stated goal of Republican leaders). You were elected to represent our needs at the national level. This includes SUPPORTING our PRESIDENT, who is doing an incredible job in the face of constant opposition from your party. Continuing to play this game makes our country no better than some third-world banana republic, with regular people getting poorer and poorer while people like you rake in the money from your rich contributors.

Sincerely,

[My Name Here]

What do you think, Madame L? Do you think this kind of letter will help?

Sincerely,

Angry and Frustrated

Dear Angry and Frustrated,

Madame L applauds your letter-writing and would not presume to criticize you for the anger you have expressed in your letter.

Madame L has found some good tips for writing letters to Senators and Representatives. Some examples:

From About.Com: This site suggests a straightforward three-paragraph structure and provides sample letters as well as contact information.

From CitizenRedress.Com: This site provides even more information on how to contact your Senators and Representative and how to track their voting and legislative records.

From Bread.Org: This site explains why hand-written letters are more effective than any other form of communication with Members of Congress, gives the important points to include in letters, and provides a sample letter addressing the issue of hunger in America.

There are many other informational sites, but Madame L thinks you can get the information you need from the ones she has listed here.

You seem to have followed most of the rules, including addressing one major issue, keeping your letter short and to the point.

Keep working at making our representative government work!

Best,

Madame L