To those of you who live in the USA:
As luck would have it, every state in the nation is
represented by someone who can restore funding
to the threatened Bee Labs.
This means that everyone reading who lives in the
USA is honor-bound to write at least one letter.
Some have the opportunity to write more.
Here is a primer on how a voter can successfuly
interact one-on-one with elected officials at the
national level. (All this was explained to me by
the CEO of one of the best lobbyist firms in the
nation, who by chance bought a house from me
a while ago.)
Here is what he said:
Your note need not be detailed, it need not be long.
A postcard is fine. It need not even be TYPED.
Handwritten notes are wonderful, since they are
clearly not some sort of computerized fakery
designed to look like "grassroots support".
(Yes, this happens. It backfires, more often than not.)
Don't send e-mail. Some elected officials treat e-mail
well, some simply have software that sends a reply
to each message, and never read the message.
Some ignore e-mail. Don't risk sending e-mail.
Don't be a cheapskate, buy a 35-cent stamp.
(Mailing addresses can be found at www.house.gov
and www.senate.gov.)
If you call a congressperson's district office, you may
find that your congressperson comes home on weekends.
These folks are very approachable, and one CAN make an
appointment to have coffee on a weekend. Bring along a
pollination customer, bring along other beekeepers.
Be nice, be respectful. Don't be confrontational. Keep
it short and sweet. Pick up the tab for the coffee. :)
Each committee is listed below, and at the end, a list
of congresspersons and senators sorted by state allows
you to quickly find your representatives.
What to say? Keep it short. Politicians have
short attention spans simply because their brains
would otherwise explode. Make it easy for them
to read and understand.
The total amount of money that the USDA neglected
to include in their budget is a mere $4.6 million out of
a $4.7 Billion budget, so this is not a big request that
needs lots of documentation. In short, if you lose the
labs, you lose any chance of ever seeing advances that
might overcome the pest problems, and there will not
be enough bees to pollinate crops. (Yes, this is a massive
oversimplification, but he stressed to NOT risk confusing
them with details.)
Who is the letter from? You, an individual constituent.
If you wish to also write a letter as a representative
of a local or state bee group, that's a second letter.
The letters from actual voters, (best of all who live or
work in the districts of congresspeople) are the
"important" letters.
What if you do not live in the district of a congressman
that is on one of the key committees? Do you have an
apiary in his district? Do you ever sell honey or provide
pollination colonies to his district? If not, then simply
say that your bees often visit his district, and maybe
you will get a smile and get remembered.
You only need one person to mention this "minor matter"
and suggest a "mark up" to the budget to restore the
funding. It could be any one of them. These folks
look for causes to champion, and the issue of
"food security" is a major budget item itself, so
bees for crop pollination is an easy issue, and a
good way that someone can make himself look
"insightful" to his fellow elected officials.
Mail it so that it can be read prior to Feb 28th, when
the budget is reviewed by the House, so get it in the
mail ASAP.
What about Senators? Sure, write your Senator
too, but if you don't fix this in the House, fixing it
in the Senate will be a long shot at best. Your
best bet is focusing on the members of the House.
Here is the list, first by appropriate committee,
and then by state:
House Agriculture Subcommittee on Specialty
Crops and Foreign Agriculture Programs
(Peanuts; sugar; tobacco; HONEY and BEES...)
Terry Everett AL Chairman
Gary A. Condit CA Ranking Minority Member
Mike Thompson CA
Saxby Chambliss GA
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. GA
Bob Schaffer CO
Mike McIntyre NC
William L. Jenkins TN
Bob Etheridge NC
Robin Hayes NC
Michael K. Simpson ID
Ken Lucas KY
Ernie Fletcher KY
Baron P. Hill IN
Bennie G. Thompson MS
Dennis R. Rehberg MT
Adam H. Putnam FL
House Appropriations Subcommittee on AGRICULTURE
(Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,
and Related Agencies)
Henry Bonilla, Texas Chairman
Marcy Kaptur, Ohio
James T. Walsh, New York
Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut
Jack Kingston, Georgia
Maurice D. Hinchey, New York
George Nethercutt, Jr., Washington
Sam Farr, California
Tom Latham, Iowa
Allen Boyd, Florida
Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri
Virgil H. Goode, Jr., Virginia
Ray LaHood, Illinois
Full House Appropriations Committee
C.W. Bill Young, Florida, Chairman
Ralph Regula, Ohio
David R. Obey, Wisconsin
Jerry Lewis, California
John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania
Harold Rogers, Kentucky
Norman D. Dicks, Washington
Joe Skeen, New Mexico
Martin Olav Sabo, Minnesota
Frank R. Wolf, Virginia
Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland
Tom DeLay, Texas
Alan B. Mollohan, West Virginia
Jim Kolbe, Arizona
Marcy Kaptur, Ohio
Sonny Callahan, Alabama
Nancy Pelosi, California
James Walsh, New York
Peter J. Visclosky, Indiana
Charles H. Taylor, North Carolina
Nita M. Lowey, New York
David L. Hobson, Ohio
Jose E. Serrano, New York
Ernest J. Istook, Jr., Oklahoma
Rosa L. DeLauro, Connecticut
Henry Bonilla, Texas
James P. Moran, Virginia
Joe Knollenberg, Michigan
John W. Olver, Massachusetts
Dan Miller, Florida
Ed Pastor, Arizona
Jack Kingston, Georgia
Carrie P. Meek, Florida
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, New Jersey
David E. Price, North Carolina
Roger F. Wicker, Mississippi
Chet Edwards, Texas
George R. Nethercutt, Jr., Washington
Robert E. "Bud" Cramer, Jr., Alabama
Randy "Duke" Cunningham, California
Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island
Todd Tiahrt, Kansas
James E. Clyburn, South Carolina
Zach Wamp, Tennessee
Maurice D. Hinchey, New York
Tom Latham, Iowa
Lucille Roybal-Allard, California
Anne Northup, Kentucky
Sam Farr, California
Robert Aderholt, Alabama
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Illinois
Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, Michigan
John E. Sununu, New Hampshire
Allen Boyd, Florida
Kay Granger, Texas
Chaka Fattah, Pennsylvania
John E. Peterson, Pennsylvania
Steven R. Rothman, New Jersey
Virgil Goode, Virginia
John Doolittle, California
Ray LaHood, Illinois
John Sweeney, New York
David Vitter, Louisiana
Don Sherwood, Pennsylvania
Senate Agriculture Committee
Tom Harkin, IA Chairman
Richard G. Lugar, IN Ranking Republican Member
Patrick J. Leahy, VT
Jesse Helms, NC
Kent Conrad, ND
Thad Cochran, MS
Thomas A. Daschle, SD
Mitch McConnell, KY
Max Baucus, MT
Pat Roberts, KS
Blanche Lincoln, AR
Peter Fitzgerald, IL
Zell Miller, GA
Craig Thomas, WY
Debbie Stabenow, MI
Wayne Allard, CO
E. Benjamin Nelson, NE
Tim Hutchinson, AR
Mark Dayton, MN
Mike Crapo, ID
Paul Wellstone, MN
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Byrd (WV)
Stevens (AK)
Inouye (HI)
Cochran (MS)
Hollings (SC)
Specter (PA)
Leahy (VT)
Domenici (NM)
Harkin (IA)
Bond (MO)
Mikulski (MD)
McConnell (KY)
Reid (NV)
Burns (MT)
Kohl (WI)
Shelby (AL)
Murray (WA)
Gregg (NH)
Dorgan (ND)
Bennett (UT)
Feinstein (CA)
Campbell (CO)
Durbin (IL)
Craig (ID)
Johnson (SD)
Hutchison (TX)
Landrieu (LA)
DeWine (OH)
Reed (RI)
Committee Congressmen By State
Terry Everett AL
Sonny Callahan AL
Robert E. "Bud" Cramer Jr. AL
Robert Aderholt AL
Jim Kolbe AZ
Ed Pastor AZ
Gary A. Condit CA
Mike Thompson CA
Sam Farr CA
Jerry Lewis CA
Nancy Pelosi CA
Randy "Duke" Cunningham CA
Lucille Roybal-Allard CA
Sam Farr CA
John Doolittle CA
Bob Schaffer CO
Rosa L. DeLauro CO
Adam H. Putnam FL
Allen Boyd FL
C.W. Bill Young FL
Dan Miller FL
Carrie P. Meek FL
Saxby Chambliss GA
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. GA
Jack Kingston GA
Tom Latham IA
Michael K. Simpson ID
Ray LaHood IL
Jesse L. Jackson Jr IL
Baron P. Hill IN
Peter J. Visclosky IN
Todd Tiahrt KS
Harold Rogers KY
Anne Northup KY
Ken Lucas KY
Ernie Fletcher KY
David Vitter LA
John W. Olver MA
Steny H. Hoyer MD
Joe Knollenberg MI
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick MI
Martin Olav Sabo MN
Jo Ann Emerson MO
Roger F. Wicker MS
Bennie G. Thompson MS
Dennis R. Rehberg MT
Mike McIntyre NC
Bob Etheridge NC
Robin Hayes NC
Charles H. Taylor NC
David E. Price NC
John E. Sununu NH
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen NJ
Steven R. Rothman NJ
Joe Skeen NM
James T. Walsh NY
Maurice D. Hinchey NY
James Walsh NY
Nita M. Lowey NY
Jose E. Serrano NY
Maurice D. Hinchey NY
John Sweeney NY
Marcy Kaptur OH
Ralph Regula OH
David L. Hobson OH
Ernest J. Istook, Jr. OK
John P. Murtha PA
Chaka Fattah PA
John E. Peterson PA
Don Sherwood PA
Patrick J. Kennedy RI
James E. Clyburn SC
Zach Wamp TN
William L. Jenkins TN
Henry Bonilla TX
Tom DeLay TX
Henry Bonilla TX
Chet Edwards TX
Kay Granger TX
Virgil H. Goode, Jr. VA
Frank R. Wolf VA
James P. Moran VA
George Nethercutt, Jr. WA
Norman D. Dicks WA
George R. Nethercutt Jr. WA
David R. Obey WI
Alan B. Mollohan WV
Committee Senators By State
Stevens AK
Shelby AL
Blanche Lincoln AR
Tim Hutchinson AR
Feinstein CA
Wayne Allard CO
Campbell CO
Zell Miller GA
Inouye HI
Tom Harkin IA
Mike Crapo ID
Craig ID
Peter Fitzgerald IL
Durbin IL
Richard G. Lugar IN
Pat Roberts KS
Mitch McConnell KY
Landrieu LA
Mikulski MD
Debbie Stabenow MI
Mark Dayton MN
Paul Wellstone MN
Bond MO
Thad Cochran MS
Max Baucus MT
Burns MT
Jesse Helms NC
Kent Conrad ND
Dorgan ND
E. Benjamin Nelson NE
Gregg NH
Domenici NM
Reid NV
DeWine OH
Specter PA
Reed RI
Hollings SC
Daschle SD
Johnson SD
Hutchison TX
Bennett UT
Leahy VT
Murray WA
Kohl WI
Byrd WV
Craig Thomas WY
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