It pays off in the future. One good source of information on federal elected officials is The Almanac of American Politics which can be found at most bookstores. Table of Contents Communicating with Congress Effective communication with Congress can make the difference between program funding and program cuts or between laws that protect you or someone you care about and laws that create more difficulty or discrimination. You have valuable information that can help your legislator make the policy decisions that will impact your life. There are a number of ways you can communicate your position.
Public testimony is one way to possibly impact the course of legislation early in the process.
How you communicate is your choice, but each method has advan-tages and disadvantages. However, it is important to keep in mind that one contact will not make a relationship. You need to be consistent in your communication and may need to contact your representative several times and in different ways during the course of a legislative session. The most important thing that you bring is your own personal story about how a piece of legislation or a budget issue would affect you or those you care about. It is important to stress how the issue that you are supporting or fighting would specifically affect your community, organization or district.