Breast Cancer Deadline 2020 Toolkit

Contacting Your Legislators

Letters, phone calls and emails to members of Congress are very powerful lobbying tools.  Congressional offices generally respond to every letter, call and e-mail and consider them a very important measure of constituent opinion. It may be a good idea to contact your legislator both in writing (in an e-mail or letter) and via phone. The numbers of letters, calls and e-mails that have been sent to Congressional offices on the issue of breast cancer have often made the crucial difference in gaining a legislator's support.

How to Write a Letter to a Member of Congress:

• Be Specific About an Issue: State at the beginning of your letter what specific breast cancer program or issue you are writing about. Include a bill number and/or title if you know it.
• Keep the Letter Brief and To‑the‑Point: Congressional offices receive hundreds, sometimes thousands, of letters. Your letter will be most useful if it states your opinion and makes one or two points that support your opinion. 
• Personalize Your Argument: Talk about your personal experience with breast cancer. Real life experiences are very compelling to legislators and their staffs. 
• Recognize Past Support: If the legislator has been supportive of breast cancer issues, thank them for their work, and tell them you are counting on their continued support. 
• Be Sure to Include Your Name and Address: Legislators pay great attention to the opinions of their own constituents, and they often respond to the letters they receive. 
• E-Mail or Postal Mail: All letters mailed to the House and Senate are sent off site to be tested for contaminants, which delays postal mail delivery to the Hill by as much as two weeks. As a result, e-mail is quickly becoming the most common mode of communication with lawmakers and their staffs.  However, sending a letter via the post is still acceptable. Whether you are using e-mail or the post, be sure to include your name and full address, including zip code. An e-mail should be sent to an individual staffer rather than a general e-mail box. It is also effective to send an e-mail followed up by a hard copy sent via the post. 

Key Capitol Telephone Information