The Grass Roots Action is accessed through PIA's Web site. It allows the producer, after locating his or her representative, to access either a form letter on a particular issue, or write their own. The form letter can be edited to personalize the correspondence. The letter can then be e-mailed or printed for mailing.

For PIA, said Mr. Brevik, this number of agent contacts with their legislators is "new at this level or scale for us."

He added, "To have the technology work so well, with so many contacts, we were just ecstatic."

Mr. Brevik explained that the letters are only part of PIA's multipronged strategy for political activism.

Besides the letter writing, the effort involves establishing personal contact with legislators, coordination of the activist campaign, and campaign contributions.

"With digital content, if a representative ignores an e-mail, they will not be around very long," Mr. Brevik noted. "These contacts are very important, but they must be done in concert with an overall strategy by the individual and through our legislative conference."

Mr. Brevik said the PIA's recent campaign is not done yet. The organization is happy with its recent results, "but we plan to keep the pressure up [for TRIA passage] through the holiday season."

"We are not going to bombard representatives," Mr. Brevik said, explaining that the focus will be on TRIA, improvements for the National Flood Insurance Program, and other insurance issues.

"It is vital that we do not play games on these issues and wait until the last minute. We will do all we can to make a difference through mailings. It is simple, but it is a powerful form of contact," he said.