Monday, July 25, 2011

Letter To Congress

If you want Congress to hear you and stop referring to you as "The American People Want..." and actually let them know what you want, please feel free to copy the letter below, print it, insert the name of your state representative(s), sign it and mail it.

In these hard economic times, I hope we can all afford an envelope and the price of stamps.  Congress can't ignore hundreds of thousands of physical letters delivered to their offices, but have become adept to ignoring emails and electronic petitions.  You can can still do that and donate, but here, you get to do it for free and send a physical reminder that you are a human being and not an abstract member of a nebulous Middle Class that earns $250,000 a year. (that's what they think middle class is)

Go Here to find your congressperson by clicking on your state: Contacting the Congress.
Click on their name and you will see all their office's addresses. You can send a letter to each and every one of them.  The more, the better.

This sample letter has left blank the name so you can insert that yourself and you can modify it in any way you see fit.  Consider it a starting point if you don't agree with the language or the points made. 

Take action and talk to your representative(s) in plain, clear language. We, the American people, are the government.  If we don't like it, we must change it.  




Date _____________

My name & Address ___________________________________


To: Congressman _____________________________________


As a constituent in your district I am appalled at the political circus created by Congress with the United States of America debt ceiling.  We, the American people, are not deadbeats and work hard in our daily lives to put a roof over our family’s head and food on the table. 

We, the American people, expect our government to meet its financial and contractual obligations and are sick and tired of the political games played with our benefits, our tax dollars and the reputation of our Nation.

We, the American people, honor our debts and expect Congress to raise the debt ceiling permanently because we have other issues to deal with that have been taken off the table with this unpleasant distraction and mockery of our democratic system.

This letter is to inform you that as a committed voter and American, I demand the debt ceiling be raised permanently and Congress can begin to work in earnest to invest in our infrastructure and promote job growth across all 50 states.

We, the American people, understand the political football Congress is playing using our livelihood, our quality of life and our tax dollars as hostage in these nonsense negotiations. 

We, the American people, demand that you stop immediately.

We, the American people,  are sick and tired of the incompetence and bravado displays and we are not falling for it.  We have seen these games before and this is not where we want to keep going in perpetuity.

We, the American people, will be writing to you again after the debt ceiling has been raised regarding pressing issues that affect us, the American people.  It seems Congress has never spoken to one of us when they posture for the cameras.

This letter is very clear: We, the American people, want Congress to raise the debt ceiling permanently and  never, ever threaten us with eliminating Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security.  We, the American people, are entitled to those benefits we have paid so dearly for and we refuse to be held hostage so the top 2% can continue to profit without contributing to our society or democracy.

Sincerely,

Image: Atsawintarangkul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

10 comments:

KristenSanFran said...

Great letter! I will be using it tomorrow. Everytime Speaker Boehner says "What the American Public wants is....", I have to call his office to tell him how wrong he is.

Unknown said...

Thank you. I hope a lot of people feel the same way. Talking to each other on Social media is not getting anything done.

Can u imagine if we took a shot every time they said "The American people want..." we'll be sitting next to Boehner at the local pub... or passed out on the floor... LOL

sandinbrick said...

Once again I will try this. I tweeted this to all my twitter friends. It's a great idea and the wording is right. My Congressman is Chris Smith, and don't think he will read it. the interns in his office will throw it away before it reaches his desk. But it's worth a try. Thanks for everything you do.

Unknown said...

Thank you Sandy, You are a gem. They have to read, they can't throw them away just because they don't like them.

Ronc99 said...

Thanks Olivia. I will definitely be using your letter in contacting my Congressman & both Senators. Much appreciated!!! :)

Hilary said...

Thanks for writing this--I'll share it! Good points, we need action. As Molly Ivins said in her last column, we need to bang pots and pans in the streets, too!

Anonymous said...

Make sure you send the letter to your reps' local offices. If you send it to DC, it won't get to them for many weeks because they screen letters for all kinds of viruses and hazardous materials.

BlueTrooth said...

Good work! The Debt Ceiling is a self-imposed "limit" that is unnecessary. I'll fault both parties in playing games with the budget process through recent history, but the best solution is eliminate the ceiling and demand an annual budget. Some will run deficits and others will run surpluses as we increase revenues through employment and/or marginal increases in tax rates. The Balanced Budget Amendment is NOT in any way what I'm advocating, by the way.

Sharon Chilton said...

Thank you Olivia, I will definately use this. Again, thanks for your thoughfulness in preparing in.

Unknown said...

Many thanks, together we truly can move mountains. PEACE to all