I’m not the first person to post this, but, if you’re an American, calling your senator or representative is probably a good idea. Here’s roughly how calls have gone when I do them:
Find the DC office number of your two senators and one representative and dial it
If it’s during weekday hours, a staffer will probably answer the phone. If it’s on the evening, holidays, or weekends, you’ll probably be talking to an answering machine
A staffer or an answering machine message will ask you to say who you are and what you’re calling for
I usually give my first name, zip code, and say that I’m calling to express my opinion on an issue or a piece of legislation. If you’re talking to an answering machine, you usually have to press a button about what you’re calling for (constituent services, expressing opinions, and some other stuff)
Then they’ll ask you to say your comment
I begin by briefly saying what PEPFAR is (a bill that funds efforts to fight AIDS around the world)
I mention that it needs reauthorization to continue being funded
I then give my main reason for supporting it (it’s a very effective way that the US saves lives cheaply around the world)
I might also give some side reasons, especially if there’s a person saying things like mm-hmm on the other end of the line (it’s boosted America’s reputation abroad, the program isn’t actually related to abortion, yada yada yada)
I say what I have to say in under a minute
I don’t have a personal or professional connection to the issue, but, if I did (i.e. doctor, nurse, AIDS patient, immigrant from a country with PEPFAR funds), I’d probably try to mention it
Some advice online says it’s good to make it more of a conversation and less of a speech, but that’s never worked well for me
You can adjust it a little for Democrats vs. Republicans as long as you’re saying true statements; usually I emphasize the boosting America’s reputation abroad with Republicans and maybe throw in a George W. Bush mention. But I’d definitely caution against saying things you don’t believe in to signal membership with one party or another
If there’s somebody on the line, they’ll say thanks and let you know that they’ll pass along your concern.
Occasionally they’ll ask a follow-up question (the only one I got about PEPFAR was whether this was a matter needing an individual response, but I’ve received actual questions about details when calling about other issues before).
Then I tell them thanks for listening and hang up.
This takes at most 2 minutes per call in my experience. I try to call my senators and reps about something (lately it’s usually PEPFAR) most weeks; I wouldn’t recommend going over once a week.
All this comes from a mix of reading some online articles, my own experience, talking with people who have been calling about other causes, and a bit of speculation.
Conclusion: Calling senators and representatives is easy and a good way to support PEPFAR reauthorization
Thank you, that’s really helpful – will share it with friends since I’m not American. I wonder if this is something we could coordinate on as a community, with people from different states, if that could be more impactful?
It would be helpful to know who the key members of Congress to persuade are. The value of contacting your rep/senators likely varies a lot depending on where you live.
I’m not the first person to post this, but, if you’re an American, calling your senator or representative is probably a good idea. Here’s roughly how calls have gone when I do them:
Find the DC office number of your two senators and one representative and dial it
If it’s during weekday hours, a staffer will probably answer the phone. If it’s on the evening, holidays, or weekends, you’ll probably be talking to an answering machine
A staffer or an answering machine message will ask you to say who you are and what you’re calling for
I usually give my first name, zip code, and say that I’m calling to express my opinion on an issue or a piece of legislation. If you’re talking to an answering machine, you usually have to press a button about what you’re calling for (constituent services, expressing opinions, and some other stuff)
Then they’ll ask you to say your comment
I begin by briefly saying what PEPFAR is (a bill that funds efforts to fight AIDS around the world)
I mention that it needs reauthorization to continue being funded
I then give my main reason for supporting it (it’s a very effective way that the US saves lives cheaply around the world)
I might also give some side reasons, especially if there’s a person saying things like mm-hmm on the other end of the line (it’s boosted America’s reputation abroad, the program isn’t actually related to abortion, yada yada yada)
I say what I have to say in under a minute
I don’t have a personal or professional connection to the issue, but, if I did (i.e. doctor, nurse, AIDS patient, immigrant from a country with PEPFAR funds), I’d probably try to mention it
Some advice online says it’s good to make it more of a conversation and less of a speech, but that’s never worked well for me
You can adjust it a little for Democrats vs. Republicans as long as you’re saying true statements; usually I emphasize the boosting America’s reputation abroad with Republicans and maybe throw in a George W. Bush mention. But I’d definitely caution against saying things you don’t believe in to signal membership with one party or another
If there’s somebody on the line, they’ll say thanks and let you know that they’ll pass along your concern.
Occasionally they’ll ask a follow-up question (the only one I got about PEPFAR was whether this was a matter needing an individual response, but I’ve received actual questions about details when calling about other issues before).
Then I tell them thanks for listening and hang up.
This takes at most 2 minutes per call in my experience. I try to call my senators and reps about something (lately it’s usually PEPFAR) most weeks; I wouldn’t recommend going over once a week.
All this comes from a mix of reading some online articles, my own experience, talking with people who have been calling about other causes, and a bit of speculation.
Conclusion: Calling senators and representatives is easy and a good way to support PEPFAR reauthorization
Edit: found an earlier comment at https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ebGwTM2FAQcp8aMNH/francis-s-quick-takes#7cQuwprYi9AiAjjK4 that talks more about effectiveness.
Thank you, that’s really helpful – will share it with friends since I’m not American. I wonder if this is something we could coordinate on as a community, with people from different states, if that could be more impactful?
It would be helpful to know who the key members of Congress to persuade are. The value of contacting your rep/senators likely varies a lot depending on where you live.