[stylist] Legislative Battle Tactics

Donna Hill penatwork at epix.net
Mon Aug 1 16:13:59 UTC 2011 

Justin,
What kind of information can you request from the Freedom of Information
Act? 

Also, I agree with your tips on writing letters, but I think it's important
to encourage people to call as well. Most of them won't write or call, and
there are more who call than write. At least the calls are counted. With
regard to NFB/blindness issues, there is a lot of letter writing going on at
the leadership level.

There were recently NFB demonstrations at the offices of the Senate's HELP
committee about the need to extend minimum wage protection to blind
Americans. One of our volunteer PR folks in Pennsylvania managed to get a
local paper to do an article. We'll see if any of that works.
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Justin Oldham
Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2011 1:01 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: [stylist] Legislative Battle Tactics

I have been Federal civil service, and I did work on a few Congressional 
inquiries as a Senate intern.  I have a suggestion for the community, in 
regards to the influencing of Congress.


Making phone calls and sending e-mail to Represenatives and Senators isn't 
as effective as you might think.  They've got people on staff who tally all 
the calls and e-mail.  At the end of the week, they turn in a summary report

that reduces all those phone calls and e-mails to a set of statistics. 
'Response' is predicated on the actual number of inquiries.  Few inquiries 
means no response.

Writing to Representatives and Sanators is more effective than you might 
think.  All incoming mail is screened.  Those who request a specific 
response to their specific inquiries get passed through to staff, who 
troubleshoot the problems.  All other letters get logged and shoved aside, 
where they might get a form letter reply at some later date when the staff 
is not so busy

Here's the first half of the secret to making letters to the House and 
Senate work for you.  1.  Outline your issue.  2.  Include photocopies of 
relevant documentation...and...3) Request a response in writing that ends 
with "as soon as possible."

Okay, then.  About that second half.  Write the same type of letter (with 
attachments) to Cabinet secretaries, department heads, and bureau chiefs. 
Ask for a response "as soon as possible."  Don't include any hint that 
you've written to members of Congress, or some bright person will decide to 
round file your letter because they think somebody else will handle it.  Let

them think that you are coming to them, first.

Here's how all this plays out.

The Senators and Representatives will have their staffers write letters of 
inquiry to the appropriate bureaus and departments.  Half the time, these 
inquiries go unanswered.

The agencies you wrote to will do one of three things.  1)  They'll ignore 
you.  2)  They'll send you a form letter explaining what they can and cannot

do.  Or, 3) They'll actually deal with the problem when they have more than 
one inquiry from a member of Congress.

What's that?  Not good enough?  You want more?  Don't just write them a 
letter.  Send them a Freedom of Information Act Request, and tell your 
members of Congress that you did so AFTER they reply to you in the first 
round of correspondence.

It's not a well known fact, but most Federal agencies have people on staff 
who sopecialize in Congressional Inquiries.  It's usually a go-to guy in the

agency who can do the research, answer the question, and fire off a response

in less than five business days.

Federal agencies fear Congressional Inquiries because just a few people can 
ligth a large fire under their bosses by prodding members of Congress in to 
action.

Members of congress sit up and take notice when their constituents talk to 
them about stalled Freedom of Information Act requests.  It gives them a 
chance to make angry phone calls or write blowhard letters that make them 
look like they are doing something.

You will never officially state that you are trying to play Congress off 
against the agencies, but that is what you'll be doing.

That may still not be enough for some of you.  A few of you will want more. 
that's not hard to get.  Blog about your experiences, every step of the way.

Submitt articles to your favorite publication that detail your negative 
experience, and do name names.  It's a form of shame that is legal and 
effective.

It's not polite, but this is the truth.




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2011 10:44 AM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act


> We had a few people at the National Convention who did, and one was some 
> from Georgia, or what is Anil Lewis himself that had this happen to, but 
> we had people speaking at the National Convention that this had happened 
> to.
>
> It is still out there. Many in the southern states.
>
>
> Leading the Way in Independent Travel!
>
> Cheryl Echevarria
> http://www.echevarriatravel.com<http://www.echevarriatravel.com/>
> 631-456-5394
>
reservations at echevarriatravel.com<mailto:reservations at echevarriatravel.com>
>
> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel 
> CST-1018299-10
>
> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Absolute Cruise & Travel, 
> Inc.
>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>  From: Donna Hill<mailto:penatwork at epix.net>
>  To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'<mailto:stylist at nfbnet.org> ; 
> nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
>  Sent: Friday, July 29, 2011 2:03 PM
>  Subject: Re: [stylist] Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act
>
>
>  Julie,
>  I was trying to find blind people who had been directly impacted by this 
> for
>  an article for Suite 101, but only heard of older people who had the
>  experience decades ago.
>  Donna
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org> 
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>  Behalf Of goldbeckjm at comcast.net<mailto:goldbeckjm at comcast.net>
>  Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 5:16 PM
>  To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>; 
> stylist at nfbnet.org<mailto:stylist at nfbnet.org>
>  Subject: [stylist] Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act
>
>
>
>  The following senators are on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension
>  Committee, which will be voting on the Reauthorization of the Workforce
>  Investment Act on August 3. If you have friends/family/college
>  alumni/Facebook friends who live in a state represented by a senator on 
> this
>  committee have them contact their senator and ask them to remove Section 
> 511
>  of the Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. Explain this will
>  allow employers to pay those with disabilities less than minimum wage.
>  Stress everyone deserves equal pay for equal work. We need to go outside
>  the NFB and think of our personal contacts who can also call their
>  sentators. Thank you for your time.
>
>  Julie Goldbeck
>  Democrats by Rank
>
>
>  Tom Harkin (IA)
>  Barbara A. Mikulski (MD)
>  Jeff Bingaman (NM)
>  Patty Murray (WA)
>  Bernard Sanders (I) (VT)
>  Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA)
>  Kay R. Hagan (NC)
>  Jeff Merkley (OR)
>  Al Franken (MN)
>  Michael F. Bennet (CO)
>  Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
>  Richard Blumenthal (CT)
>  Republicans by Rank
>
>
>  Michael B. Enzi (WY)
>  Lamar Alexander (TN)
>  Richard Burr (NC)
>  Johnny Isakson (GA)
>  Rand Paul (KY)
>  Orrin G. Hatch (UT)
>  John McCain (AZ)
>  Pat Roberts (KS)
>  Lisa Murkowski (AK)
>  Mark Kirk (IL)
>  _______________________________________________
>  Writers Division web site:
>  http://www.nfb-writers-division.org<http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

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