	Background

A "Dear Colleague" letter is official correspondence that is sent by a Member, committee, or officer of the House of Representatives or Senate and that is widely distributed to other congressional offices. "Dear Colleague" letters are often used to encourage others to cosponsor, support, or oppose a bill. Additionally, "Dear Colleague" letters are used to inform Members and their offices about events connected to congressional business or modifications to House or Senate operations. The length of such correspondence varies, with a typical "Dear Colleague" running one to two pages. The use of the phrase "Dear Colleague" has been used to refer to a widely distributed letter among Members at least since early in the 20 th century. Congress has since expanded its use of the Internet and electronic devices to facilitate distribution of legislative documents. Such electronic communication has increased the speed and facilitated the process of distributing "Dear Colleague" letters. Members of the House often send out "Dear Colleague" letters to recruit cosponsors for their measures.
"Dear Colleague" letters are correspondence signed by Members of Congress and distributed to their colleagues. Such correspondence is often used by one or more Members to persuade others to cosponsor, support, or oppose a bill. "Dear Colleague" letters also inform Members about new or modified congressional operations or about events connected to congressional business. A Member or group of Members might send a "Dear Colleague" letter to all of their colleagues in a chamber, to Members of the other chamber, or to a subset of Members, such as all Democrats or Republicans. The use of the phrase "Dear Colleague" to refer to a widely distributed letter among Members dates at least to the start of the 20th century, and refers to the generic salutation of these letters. New technologies and expanded use of the Internet have increased the speed and facilitated the process of distributing "Dear Colleague" letters.