2. “I Write Good” Guidelines for writing an effective letter to Congress

3. The amount of effort you put into your letter is the amount of attention you should expect it to receive

4. Know Your Civics! Know Your Member Male or female? Spell his or her name correctly Committee assignments

5. Know Your Civics! Senators vs. Representatives Federal Congressional districts State vs. federal legislation

6. Know What You Want You are not writing for the sake of writing a letter Be clear, concise A one-page letter is more effective than a six-page rant

7. Details, Details, Details Don’t assume that Members of Congress and their staffs know everything about the issue This is your chance to educate

8. Identifying The Bill House bills usually start with H.R. followed by the number Senate bills usually start with S. followed by the number Always include the title of the legislation along with the bill number Committee of jurisdiction

9. http://thomas.loc.gov www.congress.gov Online Legislative Information

10. Writing The Letter

11. Introduction Who are you? “I am a letter carrier for the USPS and a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch xxx in (town/city).”

12. What do you want? - Cosponsor a bill - Ask for a Member’s views - Share your thoughts on a bill

13. The Meat Why write to this Member? Never simply because “you are my Representative/Senator”

14. Does he or she sit on the Committee of jurisdiction? Does he or she hold a leadership position? How many letter carriers in the district or state?

15. Make your case How will the bill affect letter carriers and the USPS? Personalize

16. Conclusion Repeat your request Thank you for taking time to consider my views “I look forward to your response.”

17. When Is The Best Time To Write?

18. Letters are most effective when written while the bill is in Committee.