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Capitol Hill Basics - Writing Members of Congress

Use the following helpful hints when writing your Members of Congress:

Introduce Yourself. In the first line of your letter, you should include your name, the name of your organization and the fact that you are a constituent. Make sure your letters and correspondence always includes either your home or work address located in the district.

Be Up-front. Your purpose for writing should be stated in the first paragraph of the letter. If your letter pertains to a specific piece of legislation, identify it.
House bill: H. R. ____
Senate bill: S.____
State the reasons you are asking the Member to support or oppose the bill or take certain action. If you are writing your Member on a TIA issue contact TIA Public Affairs for a model letter.

Be Personal. Members of Congress want to hear how the legislation you are writing about will affect your life, your business and your employees. Be courteous and include key information, using examples to support your position. Try to address only one issue in each letter and keep the letter to one page.

Addresses. If you are writing your Senators the letter should be addressed, "Dear Senator." It should be mailed to:

The Honorable (full name),
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510

If you are writing your House member the letter should be addressed, "Dear Representative." It should be mailed to:

The Honorable (full name),
United States House of Representatives
Washington DC 20515

Request a response. You should receive written response from your Members of Congress to your letters. Always request that the Member write you back to let you know where they stand on your issue of concern. Often times these response letters are form letters. Do not be discouraged. If you received a response letter it means your letter was read and counted and that is the most important thing.

Say "thank you." Members of Congress are just like everyone else; they like to be thanked. If your Member supports a piece of legislation important to the travel and tourism industry, write your lawmaker a note of thanks and let them know you appreciate their work and service.

Fax TIA. To help our lobbying efforts, send TIA's Public Affairs Department copies of your letters. When you send a letter to your Member and fax TIA a copy of your letter, TIA's lobbying staff can use your letter in meetings with Hill staffers – your letter instantly becomes twice as powerful! You can fax copies of your letter to 202/408-1255 Attention: Public Affairs.