Roll Call

Washington and Hollywood have had an uneven love affair over the years, but currently it's enjoying a smoking hot revival! Capitol Hill staffers joined millions outside the Beltway in binge-watching the frothy "House of Cards." But even as we collectively obsess over these fictional accounts of D.C., it's worth considering how the show impacts or even drives our deepening cynicism about American politics. "House of Cards" lead actor Kevin Spacey further blurred the lines between perception and reality when he said in an interview, "Some people feel that 99 percent of the show is accurate."

Fly-in season is almost upon us again! The annual Capitol Hill ritual mostly runs from January to about June, with thousands of associations, nonprofits and corporations flying supporters in to meet with members of Congress and their staffs. Groups invest enormous resources in these events and the meetings dominate the schedules of congressional offices.

CMF's Brad Fitch takes a look at the human element to the report findings from the recent report, "Life in Congress: Job Satisfaction in the U.S. House and Senate Staff." The report provides a window into staff job satisfaction, what can improve, and what it really means for staff to work in public service.  

Congress is not just a political institution, it’s a workplace. To outside observers, that comes as a bit of a surprise. But to the Capitol Hill community, we see the challenges of managing employees every day. This is getting even harder in an era of shrinking congressional budgets, looming changes to employees’ health care benefits and consistent criticism of Congress by constituents and the media.

The Internet continues to offer amazing opportunities for members of Congress and constituents to build relationships and communicate in a genuinely constructive way. When the Congressional Management Foundation surveyed congressional staff in 2010, 57 percent said email and the Internet have made members of Congress more “accountable” to their constituents — only 17 percent disagreed.

Members of Congress will depart Washington soon for the July Fourth recess (or district/constituent work period), with another long recess coming in August. This will lead to the annual attack by interest groups, cynical columnists and some constituents that Congress is "not working" during this period. A couple of years ago, The Washington Post ran a column titled "Congress Finds Plenty of Time to Take Vacation" with an accompanying picture of a beach chair.