Assignment 8.1: Legislative Letter
To effectively lobby for or against an issue of concern, professional nurse-leaders must be informed, professional, and politically aware. This assignment will give you the opportunity to use all of the skills you have learned to write an introductory letter to your legislator
Instructions for this assignment
STEP 1: REVIEW YOUR CHOSEN HEALTH POLICY ISSUE
Review the issue you selected for your stakeholder analysis—as well as the analysis itself—in preparation for writing a letter to your legislator advocating a particular action on that issue.
Here is the issue that I have already picked for you here the bill number:
S.3828 — 117th Congress (2021-2022): Student Loan Forgiveness for Frontline Health Workers Act
above is the link where you can find complete information on that bill, you need to write a letter to Texas Governor in such a way that this bill was introduced in congress but have not been passed yet, and you are in favor of the bill and want it to be discussed in senate.
STEP 2: ASSEMBLE – Form of Address
The Governor
The Honorable (full name)
Governor, State of Texas
Dear Governor (last name)
General Guidelines
The letter should be approximately one page long, single-spaced. (FOLLOW THE GUIDELINE)
SAMPLE SUGGESTIVE STRUCTURE
Shown below is a suggested structure for your letter.
Date
Address
Salutation,
Introduce yourself in the first paragraph. Tell your legislator that you are a Registered Nurse and graduate nursing student (but do not indicate that you are writing the letter as a Baylor course assignment). Share how long you have lived in their district. Use this introduction to find common ground with your representative. Did you grow up with any similarities? Do you have mutual interests? Can you acknowledge their support of a similar cause in the past? Can you relate this bill to their profession as a teacher, business person, or even as a parent? Use a sentence or two to show you’ve done your homework and you know their background and their work.
Use the second paragraph to select one or two talking points to make your point regarding nursing practice. Explain the role of the Nurse Leader and/or how this particular issue pertains to your practice. Then identify ways in which this affects your community.
In the final paragraph, conclude with a question such as “Are you willing to commit the state’s financial resources for (state) nurses?” or “Are you willing to advocate for allocation of federal funds to support nurses in (state?” or “Can your constituents count on you to support (bill number)? I look forward to your response to this question and am willing to serve as an expert resource in the future.” The question format will open the door for continued communication. Give an invitation to contact you in the future. Try to reference legislation currently proposed or recently supported or opposed by the legislator.
Sign your name and include your credentials and address!
