The DPS/FRS has written thank-you letters to Congressional offices after our meetings with them in May. We include the text of the letter here as a guide for writing your own thank-you letters. We encourage you to thank your local Congressional office and continue engaging with them to advocate for planetary science.
Dear [Senator/Representative],
It was a great pleasure meeting with you as part of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Science delegation that was received on May 31st 2012.
In our visit, we discussed the ongoing work by your office regarding the FY 2013 NASA Planetary Science budget and the importance of the priorities listed in the Decadal Survey, Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2023. The priorities of the survey under a budget-constrained environment include strong support for Research and Analysis, small Discovery-class missions launched on a 24-month cadence, and the medium sized New Frontiers competed missions launching twice in the decade. After these priorities have been met, the Decadal survey then supports a large Flagship-class mission.
A key recommendation from our meeting was the adoption during reconciliation of language similar to that in the House Bill (H.R. 5326) for NASA Planetary Science in the FY2013 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations, in addition to the corresponding report language, as it closely follows the language in our Decadal Survey. Ideally, this would be reflected in the Senate bill if and when it is passed.
We’d like to thank you for your time and for your office’s continued support of American planetary science leadership and the 1200 planetary scientists we represent. We are very grateful for the uniformly bipartisan support for our recommendation that we encountered on May 31st 2012 during our visit to over 30 Congressional offices in the House and the Senate. Please consider us a resource for any planetary science questions you may have, and feel free to contact us with any questions or requests for additional information or visits you may have.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]