Who thinks writing your representative Government at any level is effective & considered with proper response

Question

lets hear real testimonies & actual circumstances!

Answer 1

I've done this. Postal mail gets no response. E-mail gets a standard form answer. Phone calls get a staffer and the run-a-round. If you're persistent and aggressive (in an energetic, positive way) you will finally get a hold of the right people. However, that doesn't mean that they'll agree with your ideas or help you out in any way.

I do volunteer work with my local public schools. I'm always pushing for better funding, new programs, better opportunities for students, etc. You kind of have to get in their face to be heard and actually considered. You have to be willing to hear "No." far more often than "Yes." I imagine it's the same with any issue you may take to a representative.

Answer 2

I don't know if they do that anymore.
I wrote to my senator about a problem I was facing back in the 80's. My husband was on a tour of duty in the Navy. We weren't recieving any pay. Senator Dick Lugar, actually wrote back to me, I still have the letter. He said he would look into the matter. Within a month, pay was re-established.
I believe that you may have to obtain a petition to have your issue considered, or dealt with by the Congress. It may also depend on the importance of the issue you wish to have resolved and how many people it will affect, either adversely or positively.

Answer 3

I live in Kansas and we have Congressman Jerry Moran and he is wonderful.I get a weekly news letter from him and I get answers when I email him.He lets me know what issues are coming up for votes and what his stance is and is interested in knowing what the people feel of the issues.So yes there are some that listen to the people and are for the people.We are lucky to have a good congressman here.He has a website,try sending him an email and see what happens.Mind you give him time,I get responses within a week or two.

Answer 4

When I lived in Virginia and my son was heading to school, we found out quite soon, that he was above average in intellect! As we lived in the country, there was only ONE choice of schools for him to go to, and, to say the least, it was poorly staffed and most inadequate for his educational needs. One county over from ours, they had just built a brand new public school with all the latest technology and teachers with Masters and PhD's. So, when I went to check out the school for my son, I was told that, because we lived in a different county (and this new school was only 4 miles from our house), we had to pay $5,000.00 a year for him to go to that public school! Needless to say, we were incensed! So, I sent a letter to our Congressman at that time, and told him of this situation. To my surprise, he CALLED me and told me that he was aware of this rule in VA, and had been attempting to put forth legislation to end the "charge" of send your child to a school in a different county!

Unfortunately, this bill was never passed, but I was thrilled that he had called and pursued the matter for several month on my behalf! With this being a new Congress, you are most likely to get a response as they are needing to make an impression on their constituants. However, the chances of your issue being acutally "resolved" are quite slim, depending on what it is and how many people it would affect.

I grew up in Washington, D.C. and, as a retired atty., I can safely, with much wisdom and experience, tell you that Freshman Congresspersons tend to be Idealistic in their deisres for this country, but once they hit year number 2, their pockets are becoming lined with Special Interest Money just like the old timers!

So catch them while they are new. If your Representative is an incumbent, I would suggest writing an OPEN letter to the entire members of the House AND the Senate. And don't stop with just one letter. Send one every week until you hear from someone! Remember, the Legislature works FOR US.....not the other way around!

Good luck to you!

Answer 5

I think it depends on the issue. If it's a strong issue and a lot of taxpayers write to them, they probably read a few to get a feel of how everyone is thinking. Other than that, they probably keep a record of the person's name and address, count the number of letters, check to see if they vote regularly, and simply dispose of most of the letters in the infamous 'round' file.
(Staffers keep some of the letters representing both sides of an issue.)

Answer 6

LOL you may want to no longer understand, the most suitable time there change right into a "shutdown", authorities workers ended up getting paid for the days they were off of work besides. i'll shrink spending through $2 BILLION a week. end the conflict in Afghanistan. Why isn't protection spending on the table?

Answer 7

I wrote my rep as a volunteer firefighter and got a response from an aid, then a letter from the rep with a copy of the request he put in for money for our department. We got a grant. So yes it works.

Answer 8

My father once sent and email to his representative and the next day they had lunch. He was very impressed and told the whole family about it.

Answer 9

I used to until my last letter to my state senator was unanswered.

Answer 10

you're just dying to point out what you think are the inadequencies of our government, arent you?

I am so glad that most of the posters here are dissapointing you.