Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)

Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)

Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)

The office of Rep. Gus Bilirakis believes the best ideas come from those he serves and as such has embedded policies and practices throughout his office to maximize constituent engagement. All aspects of office operations revolve around a constituent-centered approach to public service. The office has cultivated a culture of excellence and continuous improvement that is supported by formal procedures. For example: intake and casework manuals that outline constituent response time of 24 hours; an organizational structure utilizing a shared intake drive that is checked by five intake staff members throughout the day to expedite processing; and routine weekly meetings between the legislative staff and district staff to identify trends in casework and in constituent feedback received through phone, letters, emails, outreach contact and survey results. The team actively seeks opportunities to find solutions through legislative action on issues that stem from constituent trends, often resulting in Dear Colleague letters, testimony at legislative hearings, and formal legislation. The Congressman’s vote record is displayed on his website and the rationale for each vote is explained in his weekly newsletter. In total, the Congressman held approximately 100 in-person or tele-townhall meetings in 2023. Congressman Bilirakis hosts one tele-townhall each month during which he calls 100,000 constituents in the district.

Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)

The office of Rep. Ayanna Pressley aims to practice “cooperative governing” and “keeping those closest to the pain closest to the power.” This model of governing informs every interaction that the office has with constituents. Rep. Pressley leverages every congressional tool available to communicate important updates to her constituents, including a periodical newsletter with updates on her legislative work and upcoming events, and using social media platforms and press interviews to share federal resources. The office ensures that videos are captioned and photos include “alt - text” for constituents with hearing and visual impairments, and it is standard practice to use CART or live ASL translation for public community events. In 2023, Congresswoman Pressley held 4 in-person town halls, quarterly Traditional Telephone town halls, and at least 50 virtual town hall/round table or community meetings. Their office was also one of the first to use direct to camera videos and engaging social media graphics to update constituents on legislation, resources, and solicit feedback. In addition, all staff are trained on how to identify casework challenges or incoming letters that could be addressed through longer-term legislation, amendments, or appropriations requests. Finally, the office has inculcated into staff a mentality to look for and create access to constituents where barriers could exist. This includes language barriers, physically accessibility issues, even providing child care services at events so parents can attend.