I also make it a point to not just call, but also make a trip to see them. NEVER feel that just because you met with a staffer that you are not being heard. You are. And making the effort to meet with someone from their office be it local or in DC carries more weight than a call or email. If you do get a meeting, have a brief, clear handout to leave with them that discuses your points and has contact information too.
Snail mail to D.C. Isn't always the best idea, especially if it's something of more immediate need. It has to go through quite the gamut of evaluation prior to making it to the actual office. Still good though. Call. Keep it simple. Be polite. Keep it fairly brief. And ask questions if you feel comfortable. "What is my congresspersons position on XYZ?" for example. And don't forget to call and say you approve of things they are doing too! These underpaid staffers bust their butts and get yelled at (or worse) all day. Sometimes a "Hi, I am happy that Senator ZYX supports common sense climate policy! Keep up the good work!" That's helpful too. Science related issues are some of the least represented topics that get called into their offices. This info is tracked, and it's always low. My sleep-deprived point is to be involved. And teach your students to be involved. The more clear (phone call, meeting, going their coffee hour) your involvement, the more you are heard. Start simple. And work your way up from there. Just start. Devon Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 22, 2017, at 12:18 AM, john polo <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear list members, > > Kat pointed to a useful tool for finding your elected officials, but as for > contacting them, I've read several times (for example this link: > https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/contacting-your-congressional-representative_us_582a0965e4b060adb56f8e95 > ) that elected officials don't often give as much consideration to faxes or > emails that can be produced automatically like Resistbot does. Phone calls > and letters are considered more effective at making a point with elected > officials. I suppose using Resistbot is better than nothing, but if you > consider an issue serious enough to contact your elected official, might as > well make the point as effectively as possible and call or write a letter. > best regards, > > john > >> On 11/20/2017 08:47 PM, Katharine Leigh wrote: >> You can also use Facebook Townhall to find your reps and senators, and send >> them faxes via Resistbot! >> >> Best >> Kat >> >> Katharine L. Leigh >> My Linkedin >> >>> On Mon, Nov 20, 2017 at 7:05 PM, David Inouye <[email protected]> wrote: >>> From the Ecological Society of America's Policy News: November 20, 2017 >>> >>> "The tax reform bill passed by the House on Nov. 16 includes changes that >>> would affect higher education, making it less affordable and less >>> accessible by eliminating tax provisions for graduate students and imposing >>> an excise tax on nonprofit private university endowments. In response to >>> the proposed changes, ESA joined other scientific societies to send a >>> letter to House leadership as well as every Member of Congress, urging them >>> to preserve the critical graduate student tax benefit provisions. The >>> proposed Senate version of the tax bill maintains many of the education tax >>> credits and tax exemptions that the House bill eliminated." >>> >>> If you're in graduate school or considering graduate school, and think this >>> it's a bad idea to pay for tax cuts for corporations and some of the >>> wealthiest taxpayers by taxing graduate students, you should write to your >>> elected representatives in Congress. Here's one way to find out who they >>> are: >>> http://act.commoncause.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sunlight_advocacy_list_page. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Dr. David W. Inouye >>> Professor Emeritus >>> Department of Biology >>> University of Maryland >>> College Park, MD 20742-4415 >>> [email protected] >>> >>> Principal Investigator >>> Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory >>> PO Box 519 >>> Crested Butte, CO 81224 >> >
