Congress’s phone lines jammed with bailout calls

Voters calling their lawmakers on Thursday were getting busy signals as congressional phone lines jammed with callers voicing their opinions on the financial rescue package the House will vote on Friday. 

{mosads}The Capitol switchboard and many members’ offices have been inundated with so many phone calls that multiple phone lines in many offices have reached their capacity. That means many callers have only received busy signals.

The busy signals are expected to continue through the House vote.

“We expect calls to some members’ offices to continue to increase as the House again takes up the vote,” said Jeff Ventura, spokesman for the Chief Administrative Office (CAO). “Constituents who encounter random busy signals are encouraged to try back during off-peak hours.”

The CAO began limiting e-mails on Tuesday after House websites were overwhelmed by constituents writing lawmakers through the “Write Your Representative” function. Unprecedented volume was clogging the system, the CAO said.

Constituents sending e-mails received an e-mailed response encouraging them to try again at a later time.

The clogged e-mails might be leading frustrated constituents to call their elected representatives, Ventura suggested. He said the House e-mail is still not back to regular working order and could be responsible for the increase in phone calls.