On January 28th, I penned a Facebook status that went a little bit more than viral – it had over 17,000 reactions, 1,400 comments, and 32,000 shares. But it had nothing to do with Central Asia or my current work: It was all about how to call your senator or representative in Congress.
I worked for six months on Capitol Hill as a Staff Assistant (before my more recent adventures), which means that I was both the receptionist for my Senator’s office and also one of two people who handled all the incoming phone traffic to the office. It was a social job, and it taught me a lot about how the government works.
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ost importantly, it taught me how to call my senator or representative in Congress.
When you call Congress, you’re one of tens of thousands of people participating in the critical democratic process that our nation is built on. But, not a lot of people know what happens to your message. Well, here I am to tell you what I’ve learned. Keep in mind that each office works differently, so this is all based on my experience in my office.
Be short and direct
Senate and House offices receive hundreds of calls a day, so they keep track of constituent opinions using tallies of “in favor of,” or “opposed to,” meaning that it doesn’t matter why you hold an opinion. You don’t have to explain yourself or try and convince anyone of why your opinion is correct or theirs is incorrect. Just say the issue and your position on it. This has the added benefit of keeping calls shorter so that staffers can assist more callers each hour. While it can feel good to have a script in front of you, they make the calls take longer, and the people answering the phones hear the same scripts many times from many callers. Just bump up their tally.
Only call your own representatives
Every person has 3 representatives in Congress, and it’s the responsibility of each Senator to represent their state and each Representative to represent their district. If everyone tries to be represented by everyone, then the system breaks down, the phones get jammed, and nobody’s opinion gets heard. So please, only call your own representatives! They will usually ask for a zip code when you call for their statistics and to be sure you live there. Please don’t fabricate a zip code. In our case, I knew the area codes from my state, so in some cases, I could pre-approve a caller without a zip code, but if you have an out-of-state area code, your zip code will be fine.
Call regardless of whether or not you agree with them
If you have the same views, call anyway – it helps them to have an exact number of calls about each issue to talk about on the floor, in speeches, and in interviews. If you have differing views, all the more important to make your voice heard – my Senator changed opinions a few times after getting an unusual volume of phone calls from people with different political views.
Please be nice!
The people answering the phones are some of the most dedicated, the lowest paid, and the most frequently harassed people in Washington. Since the election, many of them are manning the phones nonstop 9 hours a day, with many callers berating them. So, please be nice, don’t yell at them, and thank them for their hard work – their dedication to their jobs makes sure that your voice is heard by your elected officials.
What information do I need to provide to call my Senator or Representative?
1. Give your name, city, and zip code, and say “I don’t need a response.” That way, they can quickly confirm you are a constituent, and that they can tally you down without taking the time to input you into a response database.
2. State the issue, state your position. “I am opposed to ________.” “I am in favor of _______.” “I am opposed to banning the import of phalanges.” I am in favor of a trade deal to lower the price of juice smoothies.” That’s it! That’s all we write down so we can get a tally of who is in favor, who is against and get an understanding of the trends in constituent opinion.
That’s it! Who you are, and what you think. That’s how to call your Senator!
So, what does this sound like when you actually call?
“Hi, my name is Mark, I’m a constituent from Seattle, zip code 98***, I don’t need a response. I am opposed to banning the sale of blueberries and I encourage the Senator to please oppose implementation of any such ban. Thanks for your hard work answering the phones!”
This is how I wish every caller had phrased their message. It makes it easier for the people answering the phones and takes less time and emotion than a long script. I know that you want to say why, but keeping it short and sweet helps the office answer more calls per hour, meaning more people get heard. The bigger the tally, the more powerful your voice!
Pick one issue each day, use this format (I am in favor of _____ or I oppose ______), and call your 2 Senators and 1 Representative on their DC and State Office lines, and you’ll be on your way to being heard.
Looking for who to call? At Common Cause, you can put your zip code into their handy tool to get everyone’s name and phone number (ignore the rest of the address boxes, just put in zip!).
I also use two apps to stay in touch with Congress: Countable and Stance.
Countable is a sort of social network that keeps you updated on your reps’ votes and positions, and lets you take positions on and contact your reps with one tap. They also developed the tool above so you can engage without leaving my blog! (iOS / Android)
Stance is a simple tool to record voicemails for your reps that will be delivered to them automatically. No need to deal with a human, no need to be nervous, and no need to wait on hold! (iOS / Android)
That’s the scoop on how to call your Senator or Representative in Congress! Let me know what you think in the comments, and please consider learning a bit about Central Asia while you’re here!