by Bradford Fitch and Katherine B. McGuire on May 31, 2022

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.

"Repeated exposure to abusive and threatening calls can be very upsetting, in part because it can feel very personal," said Vaile Wright, PhD, senior director of health care innovation for the American Psychological Association. "And while the caller may be attacking values that you hold true to yourself, the caller is not recognizing you as a person who is just trying to do their job."

In the past, Congress may have changed security barriers to protect the physical health and survival of staff. But what has Congress done to change other barriers to protect the mental health and well-being of staff? The Select Committee examining the events of January 6, 2021 will soon start a series of hearings. And news coming from the committee could unleash a wave of angry phone calls to your office. January 6 had a significant impact, and significant changes were made as to how individuals have physical contact with your staff – why not change how they have direct, verbal contact with staff?

We urge every congressional office to change their phone intake policies immediately to prevent harm to their employees – even if just temporarily until contentious issues simmer and the public temperature dissipates. While you have to be open and available to constituents, you also have a responsibility to the health and well-being of your employees.

We recommend congressional offices consider the following changes:

• Do not treat extremely elevated public discourse as "business as usual." Be intentional about when and how you answer the phone during these peaks of public agitation. In those cases when you know volume could increase, make plans accordingly. Said another way, once you hear the thunder, it's too late the build the ark.
• Set guidelines for when your office will take calls from the public. Perhaps establish "tipping points," when you move all calls to voicemail. For example, it might be time to switch to voicemail when a staff assistant says, "I just got my third call today when someone screamed profanities at me."
• Put procedures in place that allow an employee to end a call if a verbal attack occurs.
• Allow and encourage abused staffers and interns to notify managers immediately.
• Create a clear plan for documenting and notifying Capitol Police of threats.
• After an attack, allow and encourage staff members to pass off responsibility to another staffer, even for an hour or two, so they can recover.
• In the "Contact Me" section of the Member's website, add clear language noting that it's a federal crime to threaten the life of a Member or staffer, and if callers make threats, they will be prosecuted. If possible, similar language should be added to the voicemail intake recording.
• Make sure staffers are aware of counseling services available. The House and Senate have professional, confidential, and experienced staff who have been working with congressional staff for years. These are not all-purpose therapists – they have experience in the congressional environment, can provide anonymous counseling, and intimately know the unique challenges congressional staff face.
• Offices that are deluged with these types of calls might pause requiring staff to take live calls for a short period. Consider instead using email, website forms and social media for outreach and intake from constituents. Additionally, the House and Senate have multiple technologies available to protect staff while still offering callers a way to register their opinion. These tools will send callers to voicemail so you can collect the message later. This has the additional advantage that threats are recorded for later investigation and possible prosecution by Capitol Police.

Finally, managers should institute coaching for those staff who are victims of this abuse. Your team has been hurt, and the Member and senior managers have some responsibility and ability to help in the healing process.

"Understanding that these abusive calls are not about you as a person can help to moderate your response to the call," said Lynn F. Bufka, PhD, senior director of practice transformation and quality with the American Psychological Association. "But continued exposure to such calls can evoke fear, anger and humiliation and can damage your sense of self. Without intervention to either stop the abuse or change the response to such calls, individuals forced to respond may go on to develop heightened anxiety, depression, stress and eventually post-traumatic stress disorder."

Members and Managers: Change your phone intake policies ... NOW.

Bradford Fitch is the President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. He spent 13 years in senior staff positions in the House and Senate and 15 years at CMF. Katherine B. McGuire is the Chief Advocacy Officer for the American Psychological Association and spent almost 25 years in senior staff leadership roles in both the Senate and House.

For additional resources, please visit CMF's Congressional Crisis Preparation and Response Center and CapitolStrong.org.