Individual letters to members of Congress, governors, state legislators and local elected officials do make a difference.  A letter is a good way to call attention to an issue.  Most Members of Congress and other elected officials respond to constituents’ correspondence.  Just a few letters can have an impact.  You can also write one letter and have several constituents sign the letter or create an online petition circulate it through your social networks asking your connections for signatures or financial support.

1.  Address the letter and envelope properly.


The envelope should be addressed to

The Honorable _________________                 The Honorable ___________
U.S. House of Representatives                                 United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20515                                           Washington, D.C. 20510.  

The letter should include

Date

The Honorable______
Address
Address

Dear Representative __________                             Dear  Senator ____________


To a Representative:                                   To a Senator: '
The Honorable (full name)                             The Honorable (full name)
__(Rm.#)__(name of)House Office Bldg  __(Rm.#)__(name of)Senate Office Bldg
United States House of Representatives       United States Senate
Washington, DC 20515                                  Washington, DC 20510

Dear Representative:                                     Dear Senator:



When writing to the Chair of a Committee or the Speaker of the House, it is proper to address them as:
   
Dear Mr. Chairman or Madam Chairwoman:
Dear Madam Speaker or Mr. Speaker:


2.  Identify yourself and establish your credentials.  Describe how your work as a clinician or researcher makes you qualified to write on the topic of your letter.  State that you are a physician from their home state/district and a member of AMWA.  eg:  I am writing as both a physician and a woman consumer of health care in the United States.  
 
3.  State your purpose for writing the letter in the first paragraph of the letter.  If your letter pertains to a specific piece of legislation, identify it accordingly, e.g., House bill: H. R. ____, Senate bill: S.____. Clearly state the purpose of the letter up front and explain your position:  Demonstrate that you understand the issues you are writing about and give one or more reasons why you urge the position that you do.  Especially give pertinent facts out of your medical or other experience.  

4.  Keep the letter short and to the point- one page preferably.  Be as brief as possible addressing only one issue in each letter while including all pertinent information.  Be courteous, to the point, and include key information, using examples to support your position.   Make your letter topical and compelling by telling a story.  Stories are more memorable than statistics.  Write a story about your experiences with patients that people will remember.

5.  Meet staffer criteria.  When staffers sort through mail they identify letters that meet three criteria:  Are they something that's representative of the mail that's coming in, is it representative of something in the news, and is it something that's a compelling message.

6.  Request a response.  End the letter asking the legislator for a specific action.  If you receive an interesting response, forward a copy to the AMWA office.

7.  Thank your legislator.  If your legislator votes the way you want, remember to say thank you.  Consider writing a letter to the editor of your local paper to publicly thank your legislator.  Positive local media is always appreciated.