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Writing Congressional Correspondence
Designed
for anyone responding to congressional
inquiries
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This course shows you how to professionally manage congressional correspondence. Agency staff learn the process for responding to congressional inquiries including proper format, style, tone and content. Students also learn how to coordinate responses and organize the approval cycle.
Because congressional
correspondence is a specialized form of professional
correspondence, students learn special tips and
tactics that ensure their message is sent and received
correctly.
(Course registration includes the one-day
Writing
Refresher: Critical
Thinking and Writing course.)
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Bring this course to your
site.
This course and any combination of it's
topics are available as
custom on-site training for
your organization. We have tailored this course for
program analysts, administrative
assistants, and
others. For
more information about how this training can help your
members and staff, please contact
your client liaison. |
Space is limited.
If you get a
"Wait List Only" message when registering, please select
the next available date.
Click this link to add this program to your Google calendar (opens current month in new window or tab).
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Course materials include
personal copy of
"The Business
Writer's Handbook," by Gerald Alred, Charles
Brusaw, and Walter Oliu.
PLUS the
"Writing Congressional Correspondence" manual that includes:
- Sample response letters
- Sample interim letters
- Sample Forms of Address chart
- Sample approval / coordination chart
- Checklist for Congressional Correspondence |
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Agenda |
| Writing
Congressional Correspondence |
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DAY ONE |
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9:00 am - 4:00 pm |
See
the agenda for Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking
and Writing |
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DAY TWO |
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9:00 |
Congressional Inquiries and Communicating with Today's Capitol Hill
- Understanding the audience: Capitol Hill and the people who work there
- Options for educating the audience
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9:30 |
Before Putting Pen to
Paper
- What to
consider before responding to congressional inquiries.
- Why is
the congressman or senator writing?
- How
quickly can we respond - accurately?
- Has
anyone else in my organization written on the same
topic?
- How
will our response be used? Will is show up in the
media?
- Can we use our
response to highlight our successes or advocate our
position?
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10:45 |
Break |
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11:00 |
Content and Political Issues
- Be aware of individual Member concerns
- Include relevant recent events or changes in policy
- Can your response highlight your organization's successes?
- Be aware that some policy issues may require clearance before sending
Format Issues
- Develop a checklist to ensure that letters are completely accurate, from correct titles and addresses, to spelling, enclosures, envelopes, and more
- Sending courtesy copies to Ranking Members
- Sending interim letters or follow-up reports
Handling Special Situations
- Interdepartmental coordination
- Legal review
- Prohibited responses
Managing Email Responses
- Good uses of Email responses
- Tracking Email and ensuring quality
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12:45 |
Additional resources for further learning |
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1:00 |
Complete Evaluations; Course
Concludes |
This is a
sample agenda: the actual program may differ slightly.
For a printable course description, agenda with dates, and registration form, click here.
PDF 
This course is also available
as
a custom program.
Also available is
a custom
"Writing Congressional Correspondence" program for
federal agencies.
Do
you need a training
course we don't offer or coverage of
an additional topic in this course?
If you have suggestions for courses or topics you would like to see us offer, please contact us or complete our
online suggestion form.
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Suggested
Prerequisites |
This
course is designed for all agency staff who deal
with congressional correspondence. The 1-day
Writing for Government and Business: Critical
Thinking and Writing course scheduled the
previous day is included, and is a prerequisite for taking this
course.
If
you need help deciding which courses you should take based
on your work experience or training, please contact
us via email
or phone: 703-739-3790.
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Rave
Reviews |
"Did a good job with presentation. Made the materials interesting. Good use
of examples of writing pitfalls and wrong wording. Great opportunity to review my writing
skills."
-- Chief, Store Planning Branch, corporation
"Gave a lot of style
direction."
-- Admin Technician III (proofs/edits congressional and other
correspondence for front office signature), corporation
"[Liked the] Focus on clean, concise
correspondence."
-- Vice President, Real Estate Support Division, corporation
See
more testimonials about this course.
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Time
and Dates |
Day 1: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Day 2: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
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Location |
Other dates: Location
in Washington, DC will be announced
before course.
Many of our courses are held at
these locations:
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Cannon House Office Building (HOB), First and C Streets, SE,
Washington, DC (Capitol South Metro
stop)
Our map
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Google Map
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Capitol
Hill Club, 300 First Street SE, Washington,
DC (directly across the street from the
Capitol South Metro
stop) Our map
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Google Map
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College of William & Mary Washington DC Office,
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 810, Washington, DC 20036 (two blocks southeast of the
Dupont Circle Metro
stop)
Google Map
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DC Bar
Conference Center, 1101 K Street NW (12th and
K Streets NW),
Washington, DC (McPherson Square station)
Our map
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Google Map
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Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh Street NW,
Washington, DC 20001 (Gallery Place /
Chinatown Metro stop) Our map
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Google Map
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Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC (1 1/2 blocks from the
Union Station Metro
stop)
Our map
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Google Map
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The Liaison Capitol Hill, 415 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC
(2 1/2 blocks from the
Union Station Metro
stop)
Our map
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Google Map
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Longworth House Office Building (HOB),
New Jersey Ave. and C Streets, SE, Washington, DC
(one block west of the
Capitol South Metro stop)
Our map
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Google Map
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National
Democratic Headquarters, 430 So. Capitol Street
SE, Washington, DC 20003 (Capitol South Metro
stop) Our map
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Google Map
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Rayburn House Office Building (HOB),
Independence Ave. SW and South Capitol Street
(two blocks west of the
Capitol South Metro stop)
Our map
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Google Map
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Reserve Officers Association, One Constitution Avenue NE, Washington, DC (3 1/2 blocks from the
Union Station Metro
stop)
Our map
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Google Map
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Course
Materials |
Materials
include your personal copy of The
Business Writer's Handbook and the "Writing Congressional Correspondence" manual (3-ring
binder) that includes:
- sample response letters
- sample interim letters
- sample Forms of Address chart
- sample approval / coordination chart
- "Checklist for Congressional Correspondence"
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Registration Fee |
$595
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Discounts |
** Group Discount! When 4 people from the same
organization register and pay together, the 4th person is
free! When 8 people from the same organization register and
pay together, the 4th and 8th persons are both free! See complete
details here.
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Certificate of
Training
and
CEU Credits |
A Certificate of
Training is available for this
course.
To get a
Certificate of
Training,
your registration fee must be paid in full, and you
must attend the entire course.
 This course is
approved for .9
CEU credits from George Mason University.
 This is an elective course for the
Certificate
in Communication and Advocacy.
 This is an
elective course for the
Certificate
in Congressional Operations. |
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Policies |
For this course, substitutions, cancellations, and transfers must be submitted in writing to us. Our transfer and cancellation fees are outlined below.
** Transfer and Cancellation Fee
For all registrations received on or after September 1,
2007 |
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Time Before Course |
Substitutions Allowed |
Transfer Fee |
Cancellation Fee |
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More than 4 weeks |
Yes, in writing |
None |
None |
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2 to 4 weeks |
Yes, in writing |
25% of tuition |
50% of tuition |
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3 days to 2 weeks |
Yes, in writing |
50% of tuition |
75% of tuition |
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1 to 2 days |
Yes, in writing |
75% of tuition |
100% of tuition |
day of program
(no refunds to no-shows) |
Yes, in writing |
100% of tuition |
100% of tuition |
No refunds for no shows. We reserve the right to
change this fee and time period.
TCN
reserves the right to cancel any course in the event of
insufficient registrations.
All statements and
discussion at all of our courses, workshops and seminars, public and custom,
are off the record and not for attribution, unless specified otherwise.
The resulting confidentiality ensures a frank and
free exchange of views.
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FAQs |
FAQs
about our training
including suggested attire.
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Register
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We accept
checks,
VISA,
MasterCard,
Discover,
American Express
For a printable course description, agenda with dates, and registration form, click here.
PDF
Fax or Mail: Print
out and complete the registration
form
(in Adobe pdf). The completed form should
include your method of payment.
Fax the completed form to us at
703-739-1195.
Mail the completed form to us at
TheCapitol.Net, Inc., PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA
22313-5706
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Related
Information |
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Educational Tracks |
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Related
Training |
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Available as custom, on-site training? |
Yes.
This
program can be tailored
for on-site agency, association and corporate training.
When customized for government agencies, materials
can include government correspondence manuals and
style guides. We have also developed a custom
"Writing Congressional Correspondence"
program for federal agencies.
Please call 703-739-3790 for information.
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Need
more information? |
Phone:
703-739-3790
Email: registrar -at- TheCapitol.Net
Complete our
online information request.
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Non-Partisan |
TheCapitol.Net is a
non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty,
authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are
their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net.
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URLs: www.TheCapitol.Net/PublicPrograms/write.html
www.CongressionalCorrespondence.com
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Last updated:
June 30, 2009
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