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Tip Sheet: Correspondence and Personal Visits

Effective Communication with Congress

Meeting with a Member of Congress, or congressional staff, is a very effective way to convey a message about an issue such as the value of the National Science Foundation to the nation.

Meeting Guidelines

  1. Dress appropriately. Follow the DC dress code. Business attire is the norm on Capitol Hill.
  2. Be on time and be prepared to wait. Changes in the legislative calendar and office activity often necessitate Members and their staff to deal with other things.
  3. Be prepared and succinct. Most meetings will last only 5-10 minutes so plan on getting to the point quickly.
  4. Use a short anecdote or offer facts that illustrate your main point, such as the value of the National Science Foundation to the state or district. (e.g. the state receives X NSF $ each year; examples of new knowledge brought about by NSF).
  5. Limit the presentation. If coming as a group, select a spokesperson and a common strategy to come across as a cohesive team. Not everyone participating in the meeting needs to speak to get the talking points across, but complementary examples across the disciplines are valuable.
  6. Don’t monopolize the conversation and don’t patronize or complain to the Member or staff.
  7. Follow-up the meeting with a thank-you letter to the Member and staffer and offer to be a source of information in the future.

Correspondence Guidelines

Keep it concise; a one-pager is best, two pages maximum.

State the purpose of the letter up front and focus on only one subject area. Back your position with the remainder of your letter. If the subject is a specific piece of legislation, cite it by name and bill number. Note the likely ramifications of the legislation and, if possible, suggest a better approach. It is easier for congressional offices to respond to letters that address specific legislation. They may not know what to do with general “information” on a topic not tied to legislation. Ask for the legislator’s views.

The suggested address style is:

The Honorable [name]
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable [name]
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Letters send via the USPS take a very long time to make it through the security put into place since the anthrax scare on Capitol Hill in 2001. It is advisable to send your communication via fax or email. When sending a letter via email, be sure to note that you are a constituent in the subject line.