(source: Write Your Congressman: Constituent Communications and Representation. Stephen Frantzich.)

1. Legislative roles are perceived different by the public and members of Congress. Members perceive law-making and bureaucratic oversight roles to be more important than public. Members also perceive that the public prefers constituency service (casework) much more than is actually the case.

 

2. Senators take less personal interest in the mail than do members of the House.

 

3. Mail is handled largely by staff. Congressmen do not have even perfunctory contact with the majority of their mail. The size of members staff has grown over time.

 

4. The "frank" is the right to send mail out free. Use of the frank for political purposes rather than "official business" continues to be a source of controversy. Tends to favor incumbents.

 

5. Basic strategy in every Member's office is to view all incoming letters as deserving a response.

 

6. Once an issue elicits numerous requests, a standard letter or series of stock paragraphs are created that can be tailored to the requester.

 

7. A great deal of mail arriving is misdirected. Letters are usually sent to proper office with a "buck slip." The willingness of Members to take on nondistrict communications provides a subtle hint to political ambitions.

 

8. Members in electoral difficulty communicate more frequently than Members who feel secure.

 

9. Largest volume of outgoing mail: unsolicited mass mailings (newsletters, town meeting notices, and press releases)

(source: Write Your Congressman: Constituent Communications and Representation. Stephen Frantzich.)

1. Individual casework requests are likely to have more of an impact than attempts to affect the course of policy decisions. Casework is almost pure profit with relatively low cost.

 

2. Whom you write may be just as important as what you write. For casework requests, you will have more success if one of your Members is on the committee overseeing the agency in question or if he or she is a Member of the president's party.

 

3. Personal letters carry significantly more weight than form letters, telegrams, or phone calls.

 

4. Timing is important. Must reach Members before he/she must make a public commitment to a course of action.

 

5. Most useful communications are first person factual accounts of constituent's own personal experiences.

 

6. Constituents who demonstrate familiarity with the Member, the issue, and the nature of the legislative process have an advantage over others.

 

7. Requests need to be concise and specific.