Write Your Congress Critter

Nine out of 10 people who write their Congressman -- do it with e-mail. A new report from the Congressional Management Foundation found that fact. They have a new report estimate Congress got 200 million e-mail and snail mail messages from voters last year. That's four times what Congress got in 1996. But if you e-mail your Hired Hand on the Hill -- don't wait for a response. The Foundation found that it's pretty much one-way traffic. Congress has never gotten around to hiring enough people to answer all your e-mails. Only about 17% of House offices reply,to all their e-mails...only 38% of Senate offices do.

Some other things to keep in mind: 44% of Congressional staffs say a personal letter gets attention, only 3% say a form letter does. (AP)