Congressional Responses - This one's interesting.
Response letter from Albio Sires:
"Thank you for your recent correspondence to my Jersey City Distric office. However, you currently reside within Congressional District 1 of the state of MA, under the congressional representation of the Honorable John Olver. Therefore in an effort to have your inquiry reviewed, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your correspondence to John W Olver, who I am sure will try to assist you. Congress has a long standing tradition of congressional courtesy, which dictates that all members of the Congress should serve only the constituents of their district and provide the other members of Congress the opportunity to assist theirs. For your convenience I have listed his contact information below....."
This is the most interesting response I've gotten to date, and it's from David Scott:
"Thank you for contacting my office for assistance. I am sorry, to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing. While I would like to be of help in this matter, the House Ethics Manual states that Members of Congress should not devote official resources to casework for individuals who live outside their district. Therefore, I am forwarding your letter to Representative John W Olver, who represents your district, If you would like to contact Representative Olver in District 1, you may do so at the following...."
This boggles the mind. Just think about what he's stated. No wonder lobbyists are spread so thickly. Can you imagine, Congresspersons can't talk to a person, whether it's about reducing emissions, education, the 'war in Iraq,' etc, even if they're on the appropriate committees to do something about it, unless that person happens to be registered to vote from their district? What does that mean for currently elected officials campaigning everywhere right now in their effort to be elected President? Should McCain, Obama, and Clinton all be brought up on ethics charges? They're actively pursuing people outside of their fiefdom.
So far my effort to engage Congress has fallen flat. I had realistic expectations this would be the case, but I had high hopes that it would be otherwise. Damn that rubber tree plant after anyway. (Kudos to those of you who got that reference. You should post a response and let me know!)
I guess my letter wasn't so well written after all. Everyone who has responded has missed the point, which was that credit card companies and their practices should be regulated. I included my own most recent experience not to ask for help for myself, but just to answer the immediate question people have as they read letters like this about people's motivations, and to provide a real life example. Instead, they took it to mean that I wanted help with my particular experience. I don't need help myself. I just want them to take a look at the situation on a federal level. Was the letter really that poorly written?
"Thank you for your recent correspondence to my Jersey City Distric office. However, you currently reside within Congressional District 1 of the state of MA, under the congressional representation of the Honorable John Olver. Therefore in an effort to have your inquiry reviewed, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your correspondence to John W Olver, who I am sure will try to assist you. Congress has a long standing tradition of congressional courtesy, which dictates that all members of the Congress should serve only the constituents of their district and provide the other members of Congress the opportunity to assist theirs. For your convenience I have listed his contact information below....."
This is the most interesting response I've gotten to date, and it's from David Scott:
"Thank you for contacting my office for assistance. I am sorry, to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing. While I would like to be of help in this matter, the House Ethics Manual states that Members of Congress should not devote official resources to casework for individuals who live outside their district. Therefore, I am forwarding your letter to Representative John W Olver, who represents your district, If you would like to contact Representative Olver in District 1, you may do so at the following...."
This boggles the mind. Just think about what he's stated. No wonder lobbyists are spread so thickly. Can you imagine, Congresspersons can't talk to a person, whether it's about reducing emissions, education, the 'war in Iraq,' etc, even if they're on the appropriate committees to do something about it, unless that person happens to be registered to vote from their district? What does that mean for currently elected officials campaigning everywhere right now in their effort to be elected President? Should McCain, Obama, and Clinton all be brought up on ethics charges? They're actively pursuing people outside of their fiefdom.
So far my effort to engage Congress has fallen flat. I had realistic expectations this would be the case, but I had high hopes that it would be otherwise. Damn that rubber tree plant after anyway. (Kudos to those of you who got that reference. You should post a response and let me know!)
I guess my letter wasn't so well written after all. Everyone who has responded has missed the point, which was that credit card companies and their practices should be regulated. I included my own most recent experience not to ask for help for myself, but just to answer the immediate question people have as they read letters like this about people's motivations, and to provide a real life example. Instead, they took it to mean that I wanted help with my particular experience. I don't need help myself. I just want them to take a look at the situation on a federal level. Was the letter really that poorly written?