Email Congress

When you receive an Action Alert from NETWORK, you will have the ability to email your elected officials who need to hear from you about timely legislation or issues. You may also visit NETWORK’s Action Center anytime to participate in our current actions.

Email Through NETWORK Action Alerts:

  • Click on the link in the Action Alert or NETWORK’s Action Center. This will take you to our alert, where you can read background on the bill or issue.
  • Enter your full nine-digit zip code so that your message is addressed to the appropriate recipients. A letter, along with the elected officials who will receive the email, will appear.
  • Edit and personalize the letter! Emails that include some unique or individualized information have significantly more impact on the decision-making of members of Congress than identical form messages. You can do this by:  Including one or two personal lines at the beginning, perhaps saying where you live, or thanking them for their work, discussing how the bill or issue affects your district or community, or sharing a personal story that illustrates why you support or oppose the bill or issue.
  • Fill out your contact information. After you do this once, your computer will likely remember the information. Sometimes elected officials require additional information, such as “topic” or “salutation,” and those additional boxes will appear.
  • Click “send.”
Tip

Personalized emails often receive a response from a congressional staff-person, explaining why your Congressperson agrees or disagrees with the viewpoint you shared. Please forward NETWORK your responses—it helps our lobbyists gain insight into where that person stands on an issue! You can email those responses to info@networklobby.org.

Email Via Your Elected Officials’ Websites

You are always welcome to email your Senator or Representative through a portal on their website. As you won’t be able to edit your letter, be sure to write it in a program like Microsoft Word first, and then copy and paste it into the form. The guidelines for writing your own email are the same as if you were taking action through NETWORK’s Action Center.

  • Email your Congressperson about one bill or issue at a time. These messages often get shared with the “Legislative Assistant” for a specific issue area, and we want to make sure they get shared with the correct staff person.
  • Identify where you live in the district or state.
  • If you have a title, like “Sister,” use it. It’s powerful!
  • Mention any groups or communities you’re a part of. There is power in numbers!
  • Be courteous and express appreciation for your legislator’s work.
  • Cite the bill number or title and your position. Ask them to take a specific action, such as voting “no” or co-sponsoring a bill.
  • Mention how the legislation affects your community, ie., Cincinnati has the fourth highest rate of childhood poverty in the country or There are 11 Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers in our district.
  • Share your personal story about how the legislation affects you.
  • Restate your ask.