transparency

Shown at the CMF Gold Mouse Awards ceremony on November 16, this video highlights some of our award-winning Members of Congress and staff for the 112^th Congress. In it, they discuss why it’s important to communicate with constituents online.

Ten years ago, the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) created the Gold Mouse Awards to recognize the best websites on Capitol Hill. Learn how and why this competition was started, and hear from Rep. Mike Honda, the only six-time award winner in Congress.

"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 will commence our seventh round of analyzing and grading more than 600 congressional personal, committee, and leadership office websites on June 1. The results will be released in October, with the Gold Mouse Awards Ceremony in November. We recognize that Members of Congress, by their nature, are competitive, which is why we established the Gold Mouse Awards system in 2001. One of the most common questions CMF gets is: 'What is the most important factor for winning a Gold Mouse Award?'

In the fifth installment of 'Inside the Hill', congressional staff discuss how online video can help connect citizens and Members of Congress.

In the fourth installment of "Inside the Hill", Members of Congress and congressional staff discuss how citizens' voices are heard on Capitol Hill.

Today, CMF and the Partnership released a new survey of congressional staff which reveals that they believe constituents have far more influence on undecided lawmakers than lobbyists. If you listen to the media, the pundits, or the general public, however, you might think lobbyists are at the top of the heap. But our research shows this is not the case.

"There was something slightly hypocritical in Ruth Marcus's column on the ethics cases pending before Congress ["House of entitlement," op-ed, Aug. 4]. She acknowledged the public "misperception" that "most lawmakers" are "heedless of ethics rules." Yet The Post and others in the media perpetuate that myth."

Earlier this week at our House training on congressional websites and the Gold Mouse Report, one of the attendees asked what his office - as an award winning office - could do to improve their website and perhaps get a Gold or even the Platinum Mouse Award next time around. I love that question because it shows that an office is not resting on their laurels happy that they won an award. It's something we get a lot. The best want to be better. Regrettably, we don't always see that same focus and drive in the offices at the bottom of the list.