Report: Communicating With Congress
Congressional offices and organizers of grassroots advocacy campaigns have used technology in ways that have unintentionally hindered democratic dialogue over the past decade, resulting in "misunderstanding, frustration [and] wasted effort," according to a report released today by the Congressional Management Foundation. The 69-page study, which caps off nearly 10 years of research, recommends a new model for interaction rooted in the belief that "all communications to and from congressional offices should be trustworthy, authentic, effective and efficient."
The report comes on the heels of a temporary shutdown of House servers in late September and early October, which resulted from an unprecedented number of constituent e-mails regarding the $700 billion bailout package. The overload of the "Write Your Representative" feature was the most recent demonstration of the urgent need for change in the face of Internet-enabled citizen engagement, the foundation said. At the time, a spokesman for the Chief Administrative Officer said the system had not experienced such demand since the 9/11 Commission report was posted in 2004.
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