‘Write your Congressman’ more than just a catch phrase

Benjamin Grove

Monday, Dec. 26, 2005 | 6:54 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Santa may receive a lot of mail before Christmas, but he's got nothing on congressional lawmakers, who get it by the bagful all year.

Most correspondence -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid receives between 2,000 and 6,000 pieces a week -- arrives via e-mail, fax and phone. But even in the fast-paced world of digital communication, people still take time to pen letters to their lawmakers.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., gets roughly 7,000 "contacts" a month in one form or another, and letter writing is "definitely not a lost art as far as our constituents are concerned," Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said.

A letter addressed to Congress can take two to six weeks to make it to a lawmaker's office -- mail destined for Congress is sent to an irradiation center in New Jersey where it is opened and zapped to kill anthrax spores.

In Reid's office, the mail is brought in daily by the bundle.

Correspondence to Congress varies widely in topic and is often written for the sole purpose of letting lawmakers have it. Messages from constituents on just about every political topic are often passionate, emotional, sometimes angry and even profane.

"Folks are not afraid to express their opinion, and the language can be strong, either in its praise or criticism," said David Cherry, spokesman for Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. "It's a good barometer to measure how feelings are running on an issue."

Hot topics this year included the war in Iraq, the Supreme Court nominees, congressional spending and the Patriot Act.

"Yucca Mountain is always big," Finn said.

Some constituents write about problems they have with federal agencies -- trouble getting a Social Security check or a veterans benefit. Others describe heart-wrenching stories of how an immigration policy is tearing their family apart.

"There are so many human stories that come out of the mail," Cherry said.

Reid has six full-time, letter-answering aides who handle different legislative topics. Reid's goal is to answer every piece from Nevadans within two weeks.

To speed the turnaround time, staffers often rely on form letters, sometimes editing them to fit a particular response.

Letter answerers -- most are young aides in their first job on Capitol Hill -- typically do not crave the spotlight. Their bosses don't care for them discussing constituent mail with the media.

The legislative assistant who answers Reid's correspondence on health care and Social Security issues received about 1,500 pieces during one week earlier this year as Reid helped lead opposition to President Bush's Social Security proposals. The aide, from Las Vegas, did not want her name published.

She said she is often struck by the volume of poignant correspondence from people with no health insurance.

"We'll see letters like, 'I need a kidney transplant and I can't afford it -- what should I do?' " the staffer said. "It's very dire in some cases."

Benjamin Grove can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or at grove@ lasvegassun.com.