Since the release of our Recommendations for Improving the Democratic Dialogue in 2008, we've been working to bring about a dramatic change in the way communications are transmitted to and from congressional offices.

You see, the problem is that in the United States today we have:

• A population of 300+ million people
• Tens of thousands of grassroots organizations
• 541 Members of Congress (including Delegates)
• Numerous vendors that assist the senders, and
• Another group of vendors that assist the receivers.

With so many stakeholders, is there any hope of creating a system that allows citizens to easily contact their elected officials in Congress while providing congressional offices with the tools they need to not only receive, but distill meaning from those communications?

We think the answer is 'yes' and have convened a working group of key stakeholders from all sides to help craft a set of standards and the systems necessary to facilitate more meaningful, ordered, and effective communications between citizens and Members.

If you would like to be kept up-to-date on the Communicating with Congress Project, please sign up for our e-mail newsletter. We'd be happy to send you periodic updates.