Tips for Making Appointments with Members of Congress

By: Andy Bradshaw
Publication: The Voice, Vol. 7, No. 1
Date: January-February 2002

Summary: Meeting with your legislators can be an exciting part of visiting Washington, D.C., for the annual NWP Spring Meeting.

Meeting with your legislators can be an integral and exciting part of your visit to Washington, D.C., for the National Writing Project Spring Meeting. Using the following tips for making appointments with these representatives, you can impress your friends, family, and writing project colleagues by "knowing the ropes" even if you've never before been to Washington.

Making the Appointment by Phone

Find phone and fax numbers and addresses of your legislators in the front section of your local phone book, usually under a section titled "Government Officials." You can also find this information online at the House or Senate websites (www.house.gov or www.senate.gov). As a third option, you can call the U.S. Congress switchboard at 202/225-3121 and ask for a particular office. Most congressional offices allow you to make appointments by phone. If you are asked to fax a letter, please see the sample letter on the next page.

When you call, you are often routed to voicemail. Leave a message. If you don't get a return call in a few days, try again. If you're sent to voicemail this time, call back and ask to speak to a scheduler.

Tell the scheduler you'd like to make an appointment with the senator or representative. Often he or she will ask you for the purpose of the appointment: In most cases, you simply will be familiarizing your senator or representative with the work of the writing project, describing how teachers and students in your area are benefiting, and asking them to support the project.

Appointments usually take just 15 to 20 minutes. You will likely get an appointment with an aide. The aides will pass along your concerns to the senator or representative. If you get a chance to meet with your senator or representative face-to-face, consider yourself lucky and make the most of it.

Need to Follow-up with a Letter?

Here's a sample letter to request an appointment with a member of Congress:

The Honorable __________________
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

OR

The Honorable _________________
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator _______________ OR Representative _________________:

I'd like to request an appointment with you to talk about the work of the National Writing Project and, specifically, to let you know what the writing project has done for teachers and students in your state/district. I will be in Washington, D.C., on the afternoon of April 11, 2002. Joining me will be the following writing project representatives:

(LIST NAMES OF THOSE WHO WILL BE AT THE APPOINTMENT).

We very much look forward to meeting with you. You can reach me at (YOUR PHONE NUMBER, FAX NUMBER, AND EMAIL ADDRESS). I will follow up with a phone call in a few days.

Sincerely,

(YOUR NAME AND TITLE)

Other Tips

NWP will provide spring meeting participants with materials that demonstrate the impact of the writing project. Teachers and directors should feel free to bring with them samples of student work, program information—whatever shows off the work of the local site.

If you'd like to get to know your senator or representative before you make an appointment, you can get quite a bit of information, including short biographies, at the House and Senate websites.

Please contact publicaffairs@nwp.org if you have any questions.

Download "Tips for Making Appointments with Members of Congress"