If you don’t ask, you don’t get – right?
A couple of years ago, Dave and I made a trip out to see a niece of his, Kelly, graduate from Georgetown. Dave's mom set up a meet and greet for us to visit with the California Senator Diane Feinstein and get a tour of the Hill. We had a blast, regardless of all the rain.
She whisked in, said hello and thanks for our support and left us to an intern. Not that we are close friends or anything, so went with an intern for the guided tour of DC and loved our capital. Amazing architecture and history.
I felt it my responsibility and write my senator on the global warming issue. She actually responded! I'm sure it goes out to all who ask her vote, but it was still a fun email to receive.
Make your voice heard! Here is her letter...
Dear Mr. OLeary:
I received your letter expressing concern about global warming and agree that the United States must take meaningful action to prevent catastrophic climate change. The urgency is unmistakable. I appreciate hearing your suggestions and welcome the opportunity to respond.
Climate change has already begun to change the world as we know it. We cannot stop it, but we can take action to slow climate change and mitigate its impacts. To do so, the United States must take swift action to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and make a permanent shift toward clean, renewable energy and energy efficient technologies. I also believe that we must provide leadership for similar international efforts.
Last Congress, I supported legislation that would have capped greenhouse gas emissions from the electric generation, industrial, and transportation sectors, and established an allowance trading program. Please know that I share your concerns, and support taking action to reduce global warming emissions through a cap-and-trade system. I will be sure to keep your suggestions in mind as I continue working to advance measures that address climate change and increase our energy security.
Again, thank you for your thoughtful letter. If you have additional questions or comments, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
Here are a couple of photos we took:
May 6th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
DiFi is great about returning letters. It doesn't always happen right away, but she usually gets back to me. Same can be said for Barbara Boxer and my Congressional Representative, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. In this day and age, I'm sure they have a little web staff that takes care of this. It's a great personal touch, though. So often it seems like our public servants are out of reach. Nice photos, BTW!
May 6th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I loved the one of me on the floor.. the security came over as I must have seemed a threat or a spaz, probably the latter! It was 1 of 4 pix of me moving like a clock. We were goofy...