August Recess Update

Visit our News page LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT!! IT’S AUGUST RECESS! TAKE SOME TIME TODAY TO CONNECT WITH YOUR FEDERAL LEGISLATORS. By Lisa Piraneo, Director of Government Relations It’s August recess in the U.S. Congress and your federal legislators are currently at home in their states/districts until after Labor Day. This is a great time for you to connect with your Members of Congress—to introduce yourself as a member of ACT! for America, explain some of the issues about which we are concerned, and make them aware of current legislation we have endorsed and are working to get passed into law. They need to hear from you! How can you be most effective in doing this? Utilize the ACT! for America “High Priority List” of federal legislation. To-date, ACT! for America has selected fourteen pieces of federal legislation that we feel are critical to the national security of our nation. These legislative proposals have been placed on our “Legislative High Priority List.” Click HERE to view the current list on our website, where you will also find a printable version. Please feel free to print out the legislative high priority list to use as you see fit, for example at Chapter meetings and when you meet with your elected officials and their staff. Schedule a meeting with your Senators or Representative while they are back at home. Call the local office of your federal legislators to schedule a meeting—or attend one of their public events, like a “Town Hall” meeting. Go alone, or bring two or three members of your chapter with you. It’s easy and a great way to introduce yourself to your elected officials—and their staff. Remember: a. You are the expert! You know more about these issues than they do. b. Don’t inundate them with information! For example, a one-pager on ACT! for America (or the ACT! for America brochure) and a copy of our High Priority Legislation list (see #1 above) are all that is needed for an introductory meeting. c. Once you’ve developed a relationship with your federal legislators and their staff, it’s easy to follow up and provide additional information/material when necessary. (For more tips on making the most of your face-to-face meeting, as well as tips on letters and phone calls to your elected officials, Click Here.) d. Use our Capwiz system to send an e-mail to your federal legislators asking them to cosponsor the legislative proposals on our High Priority List. If it’s not convenient for you to schedule a meeting with your Members of Congress at this time, you also can use our Contact Congress/Capwiz site to send an e-mail message to them. We know your time is limited, so we’ve made it quick and easy to do! Click HERE to access information about our list of High Priority Legislation on our Cap Wiz page. Click on the legislative proposal you’d like to write about. Type in your zip code when prompted and a pre-written letter about the piece of legislation will appear—you simply add your contact information to send it via e-mail. Our system will even send a “thank you” e-mail from you if your Member of Congress has already cosponsored the bill! Finally, FEEDBACK is tremendously helpful to me when I am up on Capitol Hill talking with Members of Congress about ACT! for America and our issues. If you have a face-to-face discussion with your Member of Congress, or receive a response to an e-mail or letter you send, please let me know, so I can follow up when they return back to Washington, DC. Send all feedback to: info@actforamerica.org. I want to close by saying a heartfelt THANK YOU. Thank you for all that you do to help us combat radical Islam within America. As I walk the Halls of Congress on your behalf I can tell you that your actions—no matter how big or how small—ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE. As part of our 170,000 grassroots network you are the engine that makes our organization run. Keep up the great work. REMEMBER, YOUR VOICE COUNTS! IF EACH OF US DOES JUST A LITTLE, TOGETHER WE CAN ACCOMPLISH A LOT! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website. 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