Ask to speak with the staff person responsible for the issue. On foreign policy issues, this will often be the foreign policy aide. IF YOU KNOW THE APPROPRIATE STAFF PERSON'S NAME WHO DEALS WITH YOUR ISSUE, SO MUCH THE BETTER. Give your name and tell her or him that you are a constituent (you will be more likely to get through).

Introduce yourself very briefly to the staffer, explaining that you are a constituent and, if you belong to a local organization concerned about this issue, add that connection.

Be specific about what you want the member to do. Don't just complain about an issue, say you want the member to vote for or sponsor a specific bill or amendment, or take a particular action, like sign a congressional "dear colleague" letter. For more on current actions, see our take action secion.

Ask what the member's position is on the issue. If the staff person doesn't know or won't say what the member's position is, ask what they, the staff person, will be recommending to the member. ASK THEM TO LEARN WHAT THE MEMBER'S POSITION IS, AND TO GET BACK TO YOU WITH THAT INFORMATION.

Thank them for their time.

Be prepared to get voicemail. Prepare a brief one to two sentence summary of what you want to leave on voicemail. Do give your name and contact information. You may want to ask them to call you back. If it's right before a vote, leaving your "plug" for the vote without asking for a call back may be sufficient.