The Right Direction with Congressional Access

 Solid representation in Congress begins with access to constituents and access to Congresspersons. The current flow is clogged with roadblocks, and a better transport of representative voice requires a public spotlight on access. 

Perhaps the democratic legislative process would be more democratic with access. Perhaps the democratic legislative process would feel more democratic with access. We don’t know, because we are not actively monitoring and reporting on this. 

Congressional representation sets their own hours for constituent meetings. Representatives and Senators choose who they want to meet with, what organizations or events they will attend, which celebrations or memorials they will show for. They even choose their coffee and office hours. 

We don’t report on access to Congressional representation, and we certainly don’t report on constituent knowledge of the subject.

Perhaps a major cultural shift towards democracy should include: 

*Consistent, scheduled surveys of constituents. Ask fellow community members where they can contact their Congresspersons, and when they can seek meetings with Congresspersons. What days are Congresspersons available in the state? What times? Ask constituents how they would seek meetings, and ask them how organizations are prioritized in the Congressperson agenda. Gain understanding of where constituents are in knowledge around the process. 

*Evaluation on any constituent survey impact around knowledge increase, as well as if constituents have sought more education around Congressional access after the surveys.

*Consistent data on constituent written communication. How much communication is sent and received? How much of the Congressional response is personalized?

*Evaluation of office hours or town halls. As Congresspersons insist on stagnation of the country through stagnated leadership, the least we could do to re-energize constituent representation is to evaluate the impact of any stagnant constituent strategies. How much insight, legislative impact or constituent satisfaction is gained from these standard office hours? 

*Transparent reports on constituent knowledge, constituent feelings around Congressional access and objective Congressional access data. 

Better transport of representative voice requires a public spotlight on access, so let’s ready our LED lights and shine on.