ACTION ALERT:

U.S. to Vote on McCain-Feingold Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to take up the McCain-Feingold bill (S. 27) or other legislation to restrict free speech about politicians in July.

It is important that all House members - - both pro-life and pro- abortion - - hear from constituents who believe that the First Amendment protects the right to free speech about federal politicians.

All available means of activating grassroots networks should be utilized to galvanize citizen activity on this issue, including telephone trees, church bulletins, call-ins to appropriate radio shows, and letters for publication in local newspapers.

The information in the article that begins on page one provides basic information on the bill. While letters should be in your own words, the key point is that the McCain-Feingold bill severely restricts the right of citizen groups to collect and spend money to inform the public about what members of Congress are doing in Washington, including alerting citizens about upcoming votes on key issues in Congress.

Additional information on the ways in which the bill would harm NRLC and other pro-life groups is available at the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org/Federal/Free_Speech/index.html

How to Contact U.S. House Members

By mail:

You can write to any member of the U.S. House at

The Honorable ____________

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

By telephone:

You can call any member of the U.S. House through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-3121. If you are not sure who represents you in the House, just give your postal zip code to the Capitol Switchboard operator.

In addition, calls to the in-district offices of House members are very helpful. You can get your congressman's local office number from local telephone information.

By e-mail:

Members of Congress do not place much importance on e-mail, since they receive many thousands of mass-generated e-mails from outside their own districts. Therefore, regular mail is much more effective. However, if you use e-mail to your own congressman or senators, be sure to include your postal mailing address in your e-mail.

Another Way You Can Help

Please send a copy of any letter that you receive from a Member of Congress on this issue to:

National Right to Life

Federal Legislative Office

419-Seventh Street, Northwest

Suite 500Washington, D.C. 20004

Fax: (202) 347-3668

E-mail:  Legfederal@aol.com