Observe Moratorium Day By Yourself!

Write to your Representative and Senators

Letters are an even more effective way than phone calls to pressure your Senators and Representative to bring the troops home. If this Iraq Moratorium Day finds you getting tired of Congressional excuses, rationalizations, half-stepping and subject changing, let them know that as a constituent you are paying close attention to their votes.

And don't stop after one Third Friday. Any single letter might just be the feather that tips the scale, and as part of a growing wave of calls and letters will certainly have an effect.

To check who your Representative and Senators are and find the address of their local offices (and also their email and fax addresses), Click here

NOTE: It is very important to mail your letter to the local office of your Representative or Senator. Since the anthrax attaacks six years ago, all mail going to Capitol Hill undergoes a long decontamination process. This means any letters sent directly to a Congressional office take at least one month to arrive. Therefore, it is best to send a handwritten letter to the local office (and you can also email or fax your opinion straight to DC).

Tips for writing:

• Keep the letter brief and limit yourself to one topic
• Identify yourself in a way that personalizes yourself and shows you are part of a group that the member will care about: veteran, military family, mother, doctor, librarian, government employee, grandparent, student. If you have actively supported the member in the past, say so!
• Clearly state your opinion and what you want the member of Congress to do. You do not need to write a dissertation on why - offer one or two reasons why you have concluded that the war must end. A good resource if you want to focus on the cost of war to your state or congressional district is the National Priorities Project
• Ask that the member of Congress respond to you in writing and keep you informed of the work that they are doing on this issue.

Dear Senator Pork,

It is time for Congress to act decisively to end the war in Iraq.

As a 3rd grade teacher in Bedford Springs, each day I see the price that we are paying to continue the immoral occupation of Iraq. The Iraq war has cost Missouri taxpayers $7 billion already -- money that could have been spent to hire 150,000 new elementary school teachers hear in Missouri -- a far better investment.

President Bush is asking for almost $200 billion to continue the war through the end of his Presidency. I ask you to refuse to give him any money to continue the war, and instead to vote for funding only to safely and quickly bring all U.S. troops and contractors home from Iraq.

I look forward to hearing your response, and would appreciate continued updates on your efforts to bring our troops home from Iraq.

Thank you,
Belinda Q. Citizen

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