When I talk to citizens and grassroots advocates, one of the biggest complaints they have is that they feel like they have few avenues to participate in committee processes on the Hill. Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL), however, recently gave his constituents a unique opportunity to participate in a House Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing.
Rep. Shimkus allowed his constituents to do something few citizens ever get the chance to do—question oil executives testifying before the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee. The Congressman used Facebook and Twitter to do it, too, posting, "Hearing tomorrow w/ CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chev, ConocoPhillips, BP Am. and Shell. Tweet or FB me your ?'s. Make it good I only have 5 mins." Click here to see a screen shot of the post and some of the responses. The Congressman received a total of 22 questions through both mediums.
At the June 15 hearing, Congressman Shimkus used his allotted five minutes to ask five of the questions submitted by his constituents. Click here to see a short clip of the Congressman's query of the oil executives.
After the hearing concluded, the Congressman sent out another Facebook and Twitter update with a link to the exchange and a shout-out to the five constituents whose questions were chosen by the Congressman. Click here to see a screen shot of that post and the reactions of some of his constituents.
With this one act, the Congressman's office was able to use social media to allow meaningful two-way communication, communicate with a group of constituents that might not have interacted with his office any other way, as well as ease the job of his legislative staff by allowing constituents to help craft his hearing questions. It also allowed his constituents a unique opportunity to participate and a view of how committees operate. Finally, it gave Congressman Shimkus a chance to show his district that he cares what they have to say.
My guess is that those five constituents will remember the day their Congressman allowed them a 'virtual' spot at the dais for a long time to come.