We need your help this week. You can really make a difference!
Roughly 9 million U.S. citizens, including military personnel and civilians, live and work overseas. It is often a struggle for Americans who are overseas to have access to their Members of Congress. Accordingly, we face difficulty in accessing basic services like voting, taxation, immigration, and access to financial institutions.
H.R. 2729 The Commission on Americans Living Abroad Act of 2023 creates an Executive Commission comprised of a 10-member bipartisan panel to examine the concerns of U.S. citizens living and working abroad. The Commission would analyze, report on, and make appropriate recommendations to address the effects of activities, laws, and policies of the federal government on American citizens living overseas.
Now we need to make every Member of Congress aware and ask them to co-sponsor the bill to help fix the problems commonly experienced by Americans abroad. This will only take you an estimated 10 minutes, and it is much easier than you think!
Step 1: Find your House Representative’s phone numbers
- Click here and search for your last US address or your US voting address, or your parents' last US address if you have never lived in the US.
- Grab their Washington D.C. phone numbers (area code 202).
Step 2: Call their office!
- When the receptionist answers, read the following script:
Hi, my name is [name], I am a constituent living in [your country]. Can you ask Representative [your rep's name] if they will co-sponsor H.R. 2729 the Commission on Americans Living Abroad bill?
Then pause, and write down what they say. You can then follow up by saying -
The bill has been introduced by Congresswoman Titus, you can get in touch with her office to find out more about the bill. Since your district represents constituents living abroad, it's important to support issues that uniquely impact us. Co-sponsoring this bill will also demonstrate the Congress[wo]man's commitment to supporting [his/her] constituents abroad as well. [Feel free to add any personal story of any Americans abroad issues that you've been uniquely impacted by since you've lived abroad.]
Conclude the call by asking for the person's name and email address. Send a polite follow-up email to the person after you speak with them saying the following:
Thank you for your time speaking on the phone just now. As discussed, I would appreciate it if you could ask Congress[wo]man [your rep's name] if they will co-sponsor the Commission on Americans Living Abroad bill. It would mean a lot to me as a constituent living abroad. I will follow up again in a week if I've not heard from you before then.
Be sure to set an alarm to follow up with the person you spoke to the following week. We see a huge increase in success with people sending follow-up emails after a phone call.
Tips
- Call during Washington D.C. office hours (9am to 5pm ET, weekdays) to increase your chances of success.
- After three unsuccessful attempts, leave a voicemail. If you leave a voicemail, simply call back as a follow-up 2-3 days later. If you need assistance, email us and we’ll do our best to try to assist you.
- Minimum credit (usually about $5) can get you connected through any Internet device to reduce costs if you cannot make an international call.
STEP 3: EMAIL US TO CONFIRM YOU CALLED
- Email us to tell us the name of the person you spoke to and what they said. If you receive a written response, please forward the email to us as well.
BONUS: TWEET AT YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE
Copy and paste this text into your tweet:
I am a constituent living in [your country]. Since you represent many #AmericansAbroad, will you please co-sponsor HR2729 Commission on Americans Living Abroad bill? Co-sponsoring this bill will demonstrate your commitment to supporting your constituents abroad!
Please tweet at your House Representative IN ADDITION to calling! The more they hear from you, the better!
Thank you so much for helping us with this very important work!
- If you have any questions on this action, please click here to email us.
- Feel free to share this webpage with anyone you think is interested in advocating for the rights of Americans abroad!