Politics

Congress flooded with calls in response to President’s prime time address

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After President Obama’s prime time plea to the American people last night to call their Congressman if they “believe we can solve this problem through compromise,” Congress’s switchboards are ringing off the hook, the Washington Post reports.

In a now widely circulated e-mail, the House Chief Administrative Officer’s Technology Call Center informed House members that outside callers may get a busy signal when calling congressional offices.

“Due to the high volume of external calls, House telephone circuits serving 202-225-XXXX phone numbers are near capacity, resulting in outside callers occasionally getting busy signals. Outbound calls are unaffected. During this time offices may wish to provide district office staff and key contacts with an alternate 202-226-XXXX extension, if available, until call volumes subside,” the e-mail read.

Congressional websites on both the House and Senate servers have also been flooded with requests and user activity. The official websites for Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) are currently down, as well as the site for the House Appropriations Committee.