Bill Pascrell Jr. Too Busy? Constituent's Calls Left Out Cold

Note To Bill - Never Leave A Constituent Waiting.

Bill Pascrell is too busy, it seems, to respond to a constituent.  And that constituent is me.

I live in Bill Pascrell Jr.'s  district. Bill Pascrell Jr.'s official congressional letterhead details all committees  upon which Bill serves.  Like The Committee On Homeland Security, andBill is, in fact, a ranking member.

Which is why I called Bill Pascrell, Jr. in the first place.

Big Brother Pays A Visit?

I was concerned, if not a little creeped out, by the fact that "PAWS - Show Me The Money! Microchips and Political Power" -  my oh-so-popular blog post on Senator Santorum's PAWS bill - SB 1139, brought a steady stream of government entities to the front door.

It's not every day that a girl gets the attention of the military - The Army, The Navy, The Air Force - oh, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, The Treasury Department, NASA, The Department of Interior, The USDA, The NIH, The FDIC and the Social Security Administration, and so on.  The web traffic that day had a decidedly "Homeland Security" flavor to it.  And I wanted to know why.

So when I called my congressman,  Bill Pascrell, Jr., a ranking member of the Committee On Homeland Security, what do you think happened next?

Bill Knows How To Train 'Em

Phone Call  #1         I explain to the woman answering the phones in Bill Pascrell's DC office about my concerns  - the velocity and the volume of visitors from government entities and defense contractors in the hours following my blog post on SB 1139.

"Well you know, with the Patriot Act, and all that........" she trails off.

"What???  Are you telling me that I should expect visits from the the Defense Threat Reduction Agency??"  Is she for real?  This woman's attitude frightens me.

I politely let her know that her response is less than adequate and she says she'll have "the guy from our Homeland Security desk" call me.

Bill Stands Me Up

Phone Call  #2    Two days later - no call.  So I call again.  The same woman takes my message.  Still no call back.

Phone Call  #3    Next I call Pascrell's New Jersey office - after all - I'm right here.  I speak to a nice young man & again explain my concerns.  He evens suggests I should be flattered by all those Big Brother government agencies checking me out.  Is he for real?  He'll have someone call me.

Bill's Got Broken Fingers

Phone Call  #4   Next day - still no call.  So I call back  - AGAIN - and speak to the nice young man - I think it was Chris. 

Now, having run a large, client-driven, account service  group for a large ad agency, my view is that by the time a client makes not one, not two, but three phone calls - a red flag should go up.  But count 'em - I've made four calls - so that would be a REALLY BIG red flag.  'Cause now a fire needs to be put out. And the client (in this case - me) is PISSED. And that service person , IMHO - should do what it takes to respond - in very short order - to that client.

Chris's response to me??  That I need to be patient.  He will forward my request back to the office in DC.  He sounded slightly annoyed.

Ten Days Later - Fire Is Getting Bigger

Still no call.  Bill's letter to his constituents closes with " Please count on me if I ever may assist you regarding any federal matter."  Ha ha ha ha ha ahaha aha.....................

Hey Bill - sounds like you're the one that needs the assistance....- let me know when you want to book me to do some client service training for your staff. 

Is Bill To Busy?

So Bill - while you're busy down there in DC , you know, while you're assisting me because of my concerns?  - why dontcha stop in & have a chat with the good folks over in the Homeland Security Department, or give those guys at NASA a call.

And ask them if they have any news as to why a subarban mother in your district was suddenly on the radar screen - or  ask them if I should just file a Freedom Of Information Act form first.

I love a responsive government - don't you?

Comments

[Vickie Haywood]

I got a letter from Sen Burr (nc)
I fired back a response and havent heard back from that one yet...
wrote a LONG letter to e Dole and It wont fit on her web page!! So i have to revise it to fit...
We just HAVE GOT to make more noise out here!!!!!

vickie haywood

[vickie Haywood]

How very interesting...Home Again microchips is advertising on TV..saw it last night (thursday)
What is this a well coordinated blitz????

Vickie Haywood

[Selma Mulvey]

Like you, I am outraged that you have been ignored by an elected representative. If it makes you feel any better, you are not alone. I have not received one response to date from the Attorney General of Ontario (featured in your hiliarious and dead-on 'Give them the Boot' story). In fact, I'm pretty sure he's filtered me because all my notes were receipted as 'deleted without being read'.

I think you should write to Bill's boss. I wrote to the Queen, who did have the courtesy to reply.

Keep up the good work and please let us know when you get a response from your 'representative'!

[Adrienne Young]

And you honestly thought you were going to get a response from the federal government portion?? LOL..try dealing with the Social Security office in Birmingham, AL!! At least your repsonse was polite! They let those people curse at you, tell you what an idiot you are, and then hang up on you!