civility

The Congressional Management Foundation heartily commends the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress on its latest set of recommendations. Like it has in the past, the Committee has not shied away from the difficult topics – and exploring how to improve collaboration and civility among Members and staff is surely a challenge. Additionally, the recommendations regarding key congressional support agencies and evidence-based policymaking, if implemented, would significantly improve the support Members of Congress and staff need to develop sound and well-researched public policy decisions.

"As I step down from the chairmanship of the nonpartisan Congressional Management Foundation, I'd like to make a plea to the members of Congress whom the foundation exists to serve: that they recapture the trust of the American people."

The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) has been a leading researcher in citizen engagement with Congress for decades and in January, after Donald Trump’s inauguration, something rather extraordinary started to happen in the U.S. We chronicled a rare increase in in citizen-advocacy. Just as the Tea Party movement of 2009 rocked the Congress, the Trump protest movement rose up and exercised its First Amendment rights to petition their government for a “redress of grievances.”

The last few years have seen an explosion in interest in advocacy, and that is generally a good thing. A CMF survey of citizens found that 44% of adult Americans had contacted Congress within the last five years. While this increased interest in exercising constitutional rights has value, one must keep in mind there is such a thing as 'bad advocacy.'