Constituent Services, Working For You
Constituent Services, Working For You
By Congressman Henry Bonilla
As a Member of the House of Representatives, I vote on your behalf on a variety of national issues that affect my constituents on a day-to-day basis. While these issues are important, my office also enables me to assist your family by providing valuable constituents services as well. My constituents are my top priority and I strive to be as accessible as possible for you to contact me and request assistance. I have several offices through out my district staffed with professionals trained to assist you on a variety of issues.
The term casework refers to the assistance that Members of Congress are able to provide to constituents. Each year, I receive a wide range of inquiries, from requests for a tour of the Capitol, to more complex requests for assistance navigating federal services. My staff and I are often able to act as facilitators, or even advocates, on your behalf. While I cannot promise a speedy resolution or favorable outcome, my staff and I are committed to helping the constituents of the 23rd Congressional District with federal issues.
Some examples of constituent services provided involving a federal agency follows:
Social Security and Medicare issues
Benefits and services for our Veterans
Services for our active duty Military members and their families
Immigration and Passport issues
Internal Revenue Service issues
My staff and I act as liaisons between federal agencies to help ensure that your concerns are processed in an efficient and timely manner. We often aid constituents with disability and retirement reimbursement claims as well as obtaining survivor benefits. Assistance can be provided to determine the status of a claim with the Social Security Administration or the Department of Veterans Affairs. We assist members of our Armed Services to obtain service awards or replacement of lost medals.
Another exciting aspect of my job is helping prospective students of all ages by providing information on financial aid. I also provide opportunities to gain valuable hands-on work experience through congressional internships in my offices. Additionally, each year I have the distinct honor of nominating outstanding, patriotic high school students from the 23rd District for admission to the U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD), the U.S. Military Academy (West Point, NY), the U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO), the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (New London, CT), and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, NY).
In an effort to be as accessible as possible to you, I have several offices throughout my district, which are staffed with professionals trained to assist you with a variety of issues. Please know that by law federal agencies require constituents requesting help from a congressional office to provide a Privacy Release form before they will discuss your situation. For your convenience, this form available on my website at http://bonilla.house.gov . You may also contact my office to have a form mailed to you. Once you have completed the form, please mail or fax the form to my office.
I have several offices across the 23rd Congressional District. The main office is located in San Antonio:
11120 Wurzbach, Suite 300
San Antonio, TX 78230
(210) 697-9055
(210) 697-9185 fax
http://bonilla.house.gov/Default.aspx?section=news&page=09_01_06_Column