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Evans Announces Temporary Office Changes to Maintain Service to Constituents

March 16, 2020

PHILADELPHIA (March 16, 2020) – As communities across the country respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, Congressman Dwight Evans (PA-03) has announced temporary changes to the operating procedures for his offices in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia to ensure the safety of his staff and the public.

"I want to make sure that we both maintain service to constituents and do our part in necessary social distancing to ‘flatten the curve' of cases so that our hospitals and health-care system can treat patients. During this pandemic, phone calls, email and other methods will allow us to continue serving constituents while reducing risks to everyone's health. These changes also mean that our four monthly mobile office sites are temporarily on hold," Congressman Evans said.

"I particularly want to spotlight our online privacy-release form that has already enabled many Philadelphians to request help from my office over the past year, well before this pandemic."

For many federal concerns, members of Congress are legally required to have a signed privacy-release form before their office can inquire about a constituent's case with a federal agency such as the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs or Customs and Immigration. Evans' website enables constituents to complete the form and contact his office online at the same time. The secure form is available at https://evans.house.gov or /services/help-with-a-federal-agency.

Congressman Evans' office will continue to:

  • Receive and respond to telephone calls and electronic communication. Constituents who need to speak to a member of the team can call the Philadelphia office at 215-276-0340 or the Washington office at 202-225-4001.
  • Provide casework assistance. Constituents needing assistance accessing and navigating federal government services can continue to contact Evans' office via telephone or the online privacy release form. More information on casework services provided by Evans' office can be found at https://evans.house.gov.
  • Respond to correspondence. The best way to contact Evans for assistance or to weigh in on issues pending before Congress is through his website at https://evans.house.gov. Philadelphians can also keep in touch with Evans and receive updates from his office at @RepDwightEvans on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
  • Provide important public health information and actions by Congress to address the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to sharing updates on social media, Evans also produces an e-newsletter for constituents. To sign up for the e-newsletter, just go to /contact/newsletter. Evans also strongly recommends everyone visit www.cdc.govand https://www.health.pa.gov and phila.gov/COVID-19 for frequently updated information from federal, state and city medical professionals.

Capitol Tours and Visiting Washington, D.C.

Constituents planning to visit Washington, D.C., in the next few weeks should know that this public health emergency may impact access to many popular tourist attractions. For example, on Thursday, March 12, 2020, the House Sergeant at Arms announced that access to the U.S. Capitol Building will be limited until at least April 1, 2020 to protect the health and safety of members of Congress, staff, and visitors. The Capitol Visitor Center has temporarily suspended all public tours of the Capitol until at least April 1, 2020. The White House is also closed to tours. As a result, Evans' office will not be able to conduct Capitol tours or coordinate requests for White House tours until further notice.

Evans represents Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, which includes Northwest and West Philadelphia and parts of North, South, Southwest and Center City Philadelphia.

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