Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison replied to letter

[Bustastew]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]I just got cut and pasted a form FU response that did not even answer the emails request for help.
The email I sent was utilizing a form letter written by our own Vocalek "found in FDA seizing new shipments"


Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 982, the Family Smoking Prevention and tobacco Control Act. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

tobacco-related diseases cause more than 400,000 premature deaths in the United States each year, including 30 percent of all cancer deaths and more than 80 percent of all lung cancer deaths. Furthermore, tobacco costs the United States over $96 billion in direct medical costs each year. The impact of tobacco on the public's health and our economy should not be underestimated.

On May 5, 2009, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced S. 982, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This legislation provides the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products, marketing, and sales. Tobacco products are subject to the same consumer protections as those applied to other products, including ingredient disclosure, product regulation, and label and advertising approval. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act also includes provisions, such as a ban on artificially or candy-flavored cigarettes, that would specifically seek to restrict the direct marketing of tobacco products to children and young adults.

On Thursday, June 11, 2009, the Senate voted on H.R. 1256, companion legislation from the House of Representatives. I supported the bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 79 to 17. President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law on June 22, 2009.

I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue of concern to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator

284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
http://hutchison.senate.gov

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY to this message as this mailbox is only for the delivery of outbound messages, and is not monitored for replies. Due to the volume of mail Senator Hutchison receives, she requests that all email messages be sent through the contact form found on her website at United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison .

If you would like more information about issues pending before the Senate, please visit the Senator's website at http://hutchison.senate.gov . You will find articles, floor statements, and press releases, along with her weekly column and monthly television show on current events. You can also sign up to receive Senator Hutchison's weekly e-newsletter.

Thank you.
[/FONT]

 

[Vocalek]

We have started to notice this happening quite often when we send emails. I'm not saying that you would have received a better response had you snail mailed it, but possibly. I suspect that the support staff scans for key words and selects a form response based on that.

Maybe our subject line needs to avoid trigger words like "cigarette" or "tobacco". Maybe something like:

"Tell the FDA to stop wasting taxpayer money"

 

[MoonRose]

What do you want to bet that the good Senator never even actually saw your e-mail to him. But that one of his staff is the one who saw it, didn't actually read it (simply saw the words tobacco or smoking) and then sent you the form letter back.

LOL, Elaine, you beat me to it.

 

[t9c]

I got the same canned reply from Hutch's office. Given today's information technology, such as found in keyword filtered email anti-spam programs, I highly doubt that ANY human read our emails. And to top it off, they don't receive email directly. You have to use the form on their site.

I knew not to expect much since Mrs. Hutch is now lame duck. She announced here retirement yesterday.

 

[Petrodus]

Here's what I'm going to do

Print the emails and mail them "Snail Mail"

If that doesn't work then send copies of the emails (previously sent)
to every staffer and associate they know asking them if they would
be so kind as to deliver the emails personally.

 

[xg4bx]

i've always heard that handwritten and/or snail mail letters are taken much more seriously than email. if i owned a business or whatever and someone took the time to write out and physically mail a letter, i'd take them more seriously than someone who dashed off an email.

 

[Slea]

I can beat this.

One of my senators sent a response about the Clean Air Act to my last letter about e-cigs.

 

[Bustastew]

Two words..... SERENITY NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bill Godshall]

I suggest that any letters sent to US Representatives be faxed, as they don't read e-mails and it takes several weeks or longer for snail mail to be delivered (as all snail mail to Congress is first inspected for anthrax contamination).

Letters to US Senators won't be effective (as pro Obama Democrats still control the Senate), neither will letters sent to State Reps or Senators (who have no oversight of the FDA).