[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E881-E882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR.

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 1997

  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, today, I want to recognize an 
organization that I became familiar with soon after arriving in 
Washington as a freshman in 1985. National Write Your Congressman has 
been providing me and my

[[Page E882]]

office with important and intelligent information from our district 
since 1953.
  Their legislative updates, entitled ``We The People,'' arrived 
monthly in my office, sometimes with copies of my 1-minute speeches 
from the House floor printed in the Congressional Comments section. In 
June 1994, National Write Your Congressman featured my bill to move the 
burden of proof from the taxpayer to the IRS in civil tax court as the 
topic of a survey. The results astounded me: Ninety-three percent of 
their readers favored my bill, and soon afterword, I had over 300 
cosponsors.
  National Write Your Congressman's opinion ballots are some of the 
only polls I trust. Their members respond because they want to 
participate in the democratic process, not because some polling 
organization called them.
  I find that letterwriters from National Write Your Congressman are 
well informed about issues in Washington that effect their lives. Their 
readers should know that they do have clout in Washington because their 
voices are heard monthly.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment National Write Your Congressman for 
its work for nearly 40 years to bring the opinions of Americans to 
their Federal representatives in Washington.

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