Faxing Congress via e-mail - is this still possible?

[derby378]

I understand there was once a method (remote.printer...tpc.int) where people could send an e-mail to Congress and have it print out on their Congressperson's fax machine. Does this still work, or has this service been retired?

[mcscajun]

1. Still around, apparently...

...I just found it. Have never used it.

http://www.tpc.int/faxbyemail.html

Be sure to check coverage area:
http://www.tpc.int/verify.html

From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Presently, neither the House nor the Senate provide a fax list of legislators, to our knowledge. Many legislators' fax numbers are available from the Project Vote-Smart Elected Official Biographical Information Database at http://www.vote-smart.org/ce/. If that fails, you can look up your Representative's Web page in a list by name at http://www.house.gov/MemberWWW.html, or on an interactive form by your ZIP+4 code at http://www.house.gov/writerep/; and your Senator's Web page by state at http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm or by name at http://www.senate.gov/senators/.

If your legislator's fax number is not available via these means, you will have to call his/her office and ask for it. Say that you are a constitutent trying to contact the legislator via fax with your opinions on an issue before Congress. They may refuse to divulge the number - some of the more backward Congressional offices seem to believe that fax machines are only for inter-office use, and not a normal means for the public to contact legislators. If this happens to you, POLITELY express your displeasure at this position, deliver your opinion on the issue via the phone, and then send a postal letter with the full comments you had hoped to fax, closing with a p.s. that you would rather have faxed it, and are disappointed that your legislator's office does not provide a fax number for constitutents to send comments to.

We are always on the lookout for a comprehensive and regularly maintained Congressional fax number list. If you happen to encounter one, please let us know at [e-mail].

http://www.eff.org/congress/#phonefax

[zanne]

2. But will they pay attention to it?

An email or a piece of paper can be easily ignored; a phone call can't. They're not paying much attention to emails anymore--how long will it be for faxes?

[mcscajun]

3. Actually, they're beginning to pay more attention to e-mails

as people move to it rather than snail mail...e-mail is just now beginning to be taken more seriously.

Actually, I see the fax as a more annoying thing than a means of serious communication, but that's just me.

As to whether they pay attention, anything can and will be ignored. In the case of phone calls, they can listen now and ignore you later.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. They don't pay much attention to any of it, despite appearances.

Phones, emails, faxes... they're all usually handled by interns. They do keep track of how many people call in favor or opposition to a particular issue, but that's about it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. Just as an FYI

It's all processed the exact same way. It's far more effective to email them, however, as no one has to manually enter the information. They can more effectively tally where you stand on an issue by email, as there is less human (aka intern) error involved.