Statement from Congressional Management Foundation on New Recommendations from Modernization Committee
The Congressional Management Foundation enthusiastically celebrates the latest recommendations adopted this week by the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. This round builds on the amazing work by the Select Committee, which has served as a model for bipartisanship and productivity during its tenure. We are especially excited by those recommendations regarding district offices, which are often overlooked yet are often the first point of contact with Congress for millions of Americans.
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Watch: Time & Information Management
Information is one thing that isn't in short supply in congressional offices. And yet there aren't enough hours in a day to EVER catch up! How do you go about juggling these opposing forces? Follow CMF's CEO and President, Bradford Fitch, in this recording where you will learn how to:
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Congress: Change Your Office Phone Answering Policies AGAIN
Without warning, your staffer picks up the phone to hear these chilling words: "We're coming for the congresswoman, her family, you, your family ... and we know where you live!" Before the staffer can hang up, the caller has cursed at her several times. Congressional managers and Members need to appreciate – and mitigate – the impact of these verbal attacks on staff and on interns.
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Principle 10: Input from the public should be integrated with other sources of information for Congress to make good public policy decisions.
by Kathy Goldschmidt
on May 27, 2022
Public sentiment alone should not be the sole determinant in developing public policy—if it was, we would not need Congress, just a national polling firm. The Founders gave us a republic, a representative democracy, not a direct democracy.
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Principle 9: Constituent advocacy must prioritize content and quality over medium and quantity.
by Kathy Goldschmidt
on May 23, 2022
Both Congress and the organizers of grassroots campaigns are stuck with an antiquated and inaccurate belief that the best way to demonstrate broad support for a cause or issue is to send as many emails as possible to as many Members of Congress as possible. Because it is now so much easier and less expensive than in pre-Internet days to generate high volume, these tactics are no longer a clear indication of the salience of an issue. Generating identical form email campaigns to Congress just sap the time, resources, and hard drive space of Congress.
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Principle 8: The People should be honest and transparent in their engagement with Congress.
by Kathy Goldschmidt
on May 19, 2022
Democracy is a two-way street. While our elected officials bear the lion’s share of the burden to be transparent and accountable to those they represent, the People who engage Congress have a civic duty, as well.
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Principle 7: While individual Members should prioritize engagement with their own constituents, Congress should develop additional venues for public policy participation and engagement.
by Kathy Goldschmidt
on April 29, 2022
Since lawmakers are bound by duty and practice to focus mostly on their own constituents, however, Congress should create other means for the People to engage with Congress in meaningful and thoughtful ways. There are currently few mechanisms for a concern to be raised to Congress except through an individual’s own legislators, who have complete discretion in what issues they pursue.
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Advocacy organizations are focusing on ease and efficiency when lobbying Congress, instead of strategies that are more effective, but harder to implement
by Kathy Goldschmidt
on April 19, 2022
Like Congress, the associations, nonprofits, and corporations that facilitate grassroots advocacy campaigns to legislators are unwittingly aiding the process of turning constituent contact into data points instead of true engagement.
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Congress lacks the capacity to meet the demands of a 21st century constituency
by Kathy Goldschmidt
on April 11, 2022
Though the public image of Congress is as an institution with unlimited resources, the lack of capacity for Congress to perform its role in democracy and the impact that it is having on our practice of democracy is now well-documented. Significant increases in the U.S. population and reductions in Legislative Branch staffing and budget are some of the biggest challenges to congressional capacity.
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Principle 6: Congressional Engagement Should Promote Accessibility for All
by Kathy Goldschmidt
on April 11, 2022
When our tools for engaging with Congress rely mostly or exclusively on the internet, we leave out voices that need to be represented in public policy. The key is to facilitate the broadest possible inclusion. Modern methods of engagement should strive to ensure that all have equal voice in Congress, regardless of status, wealth, ability, distance, broadband access, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other dimension of difference.
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