A “Communicating with Congress” report
November 18, 2011
Communication between constituents and congressional representatives is vital to the democratic process and an integral element of civic engagement. The Congressional Management Foundation’s report, “Communicating with Congress: How citizen advocacy is changing mail operations on Capitol Hill” found that communication to congressional offices has increased four times between 1995 and 2004. Nearly half of constituents have communicated with Congress in the past five years.
Individuals care about the decisions their representatives are making and in turn, they are reaching out to their representatives and expecting a timely and personalized response. Some citizens are showing engagement in the political process through communication with their representatives. In the past 8 years, Congressional Management Foundation has seen a significant increase in constituent communication to congressional representatives. Issues of national importance often cause heightened involvement; for instance, 2009 showed an extreme increase in communication due to the controversial political debates around health care and CAP reform.
Citizens are not the only people interested in increased, meaningful, and more efficient communication. A majority of congressional members feel that responding to constituents is high priority. Many offices reported a significant movement towards the use of email to reply to constituent mail, emails, and phone calls.
Internet, email, and social media are increasingly used to communicate with constituents. The integration of social media and email into congressional communication has allowed for easier and time sensitive responses. Despite the growing use of efficient communication, many offices still struggle with response time, sometimes waiting over a week to return phone calls and emails. For many constituents, this is still too long, especially on important and often time specific issues.
Many on Capital Hill would like better resources to manage communication with constituents. Some stated the quantity of mail was the greatest issue while “mail staffers,” stated that the approval process of upper management was the impeding issue in return communication.
Improved access to information through email, social media, and accessible websites is encouraging communication from constituents. Congressional offices must prepare for the influx of communication with efficiency and responsibility. Constituents must be informed about the issues to increase the importance and validity of constituent opinions and understand the high volume of information received by congressional members each day. Congressional websites and social media may be a great way to gain information about representatives’ opinions and areas of work without requesting a personal response.
The increasing use of technology and the growing population of engaged citizens are likely positive for the democratic process. Constituents and congressional representatives should cooperate and engage to continue to improve communication.
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