I used to think of calling my reps as a Big Deal, an intimidating prospect. I am here to tell you that it is not actually a big deal. This is the script I always use:
Hi, thank you for taking my call today. My name is Jamie Gladly, and I am one of Congressman/Senator Lastname's constituents in Gladlyville. My zip code is 12345. I am calling about [issue], because [reasons, sometimes tailored to his/her political leanings]. I would like to ask the representative/senator to [co-sponsor legislation / introduce legislation / vote yea or nay on a bill / issue a statement]. I [would appreciate / do not need] a response from the representative/senator. [pause for aide to say something pleasant and non-committal and to confirm my address] Thank you again for talking with me today.
Boom, you're done. I can usually make all 3 calls in less than 5 minutes. No one has ever been anything but impeccably courteous to me, even when I am feeling a little rant-y. The last time I called about family separation at the border, I joked with my kids that if they had been listening with a "Mom calls her legislators" bingo card in hand, they would have had an easy blackout.
Today I was feeling more than a little rant-y, and I expanded the [issue] and [reasons] sections of my script accordingly. I am going to post a version of them here, in case anybody who reads here might be feeling cautious about making calls.
I am calling about the front-page story in today's New York Times, reporting a sudden and unexplained shift in a position that has received longstanding bipartisan support. US officials inexplicably opposed a World Health Assembly resolution in support of breastfeeding, and did so by bullying and threatening smaller countries until the Russians intervened to stop them. This behavior is nothing short of bizarre: it flies in the face of decades of research on the importance of human milk as a low-cost means of protecting mothers and babies worldwide. Protecting and promoting breastfeeding is pro-life and pro-economic responsibility [I emphasized this first for the R side of the aisle] as well as pro-science and pro-women's health [I led with this for the other side]. I am especially concerned about the HHS response to the NYT reporter, which clearly reflects the influence of infant formula industry marketing strategies. The only possible explanation I can think of for these events is lobbying by the infant formula industry, which will have serious adverse effects on the well-being of babies and mothers if it continues unchecked. In the wake of the recent scandals at the EPA, I am concerned that HHS has also been the target of hidden industry lobbying efforts.
I would like to ask the senator/congressman to consider doing two things: first, to issue a statement in support of our policy of protecting and promoting breastfeeding in time for World Breastfeeding Week, which is August 1-7. Second, I'd like to ask the senator/congressman to consider calling for an investigation into donations by the infant formula industry that may have influenced delegates to the World Health Assembly meeting and representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Let me know how it goes!
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