Guide to Writing Letters to Your Members of Congress
1. Use this sample letter as a guide for your own letter. While you can use the sample letter as written, it will be much more effective if you modify it to reflect your own writing style and concerns. If members of Congress get too many identical letters, they won't take them as seriously.
2. Always request that your Congressman or Senator respond to your concerns. After all, they were elected to represent you, and you're paying their salaries.
3. Once again, to get the addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses for your members of Congress, click on this link, and enter your zipcode or the last name of your Representative or Senator.
4. Keep in mind that members of Congress receive thousands of phone calls, letters, and e-mails per week. Don't expect a response overnight, but if you don't receive a response within a couple of weeks, contact your member of Congress again by e-mail or phone and send us an e-mail to let us know. You could also write a letter to the editor complaining about the lack of response on such an important issue.
5. Refer to the links listed on the main page for ideas and talking points for your letter. We particularly recommend "Nine Misconceptions about Social Security" from the Atlantic Monthly, and this editorial from The Nation.
Sample
Letter
The Honorable [Rep. or Sen. X]
[Office Address]
Dear [Rep. or Sen. X]:
I am writing to express my concerns over proposals to privatize the Social Security system.
As you know, Social Security has been a crucial part of our Nation's efforts to fight poverty. Social Security currently provides millions of Americans, including retirees, widows, and the disabled, with guaranteed income when they become eligible to receive benefits.
While I recognize the need for minor reforms to ensure that this valuable program can continue to serve Americans both now and in the future, replacing the current system with a system containing individual private accounts puts future beneficiaries at risk.
First of all, a privatized system would lead to a cut in guaranteed Social Security benefits, while forcing future beneficiaries to rely on the ups and downs of their investments on the stock market. Retirees, widows, and the disabled rely on these benefits for their economic survival, and should not be forced to replace their guaranteed benefits in the current system with unpredictable returns from the stock market.
Just as important is the fact that most, if not all, proposals to set up individual private accounts include an increase in the retirement age. While it is true that Americans are living longer, most Americans do not wish to work into their late sixties and seventies, and many of them cannot do so. Not only is working longer unfair to them, but it forces younger workers to settle for lower-paying jobs, or remain unemployed, due to the increased number of elderly people in the workforce. While I believe that people should be allowed to work as long as they are willing and able to do so, these proposals force people to work longer, whether they wish to or not.
Finally, as I pointed out earlier, it is far from certain that future retirees would do better financially under a system of individual private accounts. The only sure winners under such a system are the Wall Street firms that stand to make billions of dollars if such changes are put into place. I'm sure you would agree that attempts to save the Social Security system should focus on the needs of average Americans, not the desires of Wall Street.
I look forward to your response to my concerns and hope that you'll agree that individual private accounts are not the way to protect Social Security.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Optional: Your phone number and/or e-mail address]
Letters generated since 1/1/99