Inside the Hill

Shown at the CMF Gold Mouse Awards ceremony on November 16, this video highlights some of our award-winning Members of Congress and staff for the 112^th Congress. In it, they discuss why it’s important to communicate with constituents online.

Last month, Brad Fitch, President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), was interviewed on C-SPAN's Washington Journal. Based on research done by CMF and 13 years of personal experience working on the Hill, Brad discussed a wide range of topics on the show, painting a more accurate picture of the life and work of Members of Congress. Topics ranged from the initial challenges with setting up a congressional office, hiring staff, and learning new issues, to debunking some common myths about Congress such as congressional pay and office budgets. 

Last week, CMF and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) launched a training series on congressional work-life as part of the "Life in Congress" research project. These programs are focused on enhancing staff's professional and personal lives by exploring options for more flexible workplaces.

Washington and Hollywood have had an uneven love affair over the years, but currently it's enjoying a smoking hot revival! Capitol Hill staffers joined millions outside the Beltway in binge-watching the frothy "House of Cards." But even as we collectively obsess over these fictional accounts of D.C., it's worth considering how the show impacts or even drives our deepening cynicism about American politics. "House of Cards" lead actor Kevin Spacey further blurred the lines between perception and reality when he said in an interview, "Some people feel that 99 percent of the show is accurate."

Is workplace flexibility possible in congressional offices? Can something that's "easy to say, hard to do" be implemented in such a unique work environment? In this month's Roll Call commentary, Brad Fitch discusses why workflex is important for Congress to consider—and the consequences of not doing so.

Join CMF and the Beekeeper Group next Friday, March 27 for our first session of the 2015 Advocacy Leaders Network, "Reaching Capitol Hill: The Class of 2015." This series is tailored to senior advocacy, government affairs, and public relations professionals, and presented through CMF's Partnership for a More Perfect Union.

Ten years ago, the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) created the Gold Mouse Awards to recognize the best websites on Capitol Hill. Learn how and why this competition was started, and hear from Rep. Mike Honda, the only six-time award winner in Congress.

As congressional offices approach the final quarter of 2015, the dreaded topic of "performance reviews" raises its ugly head. The topic is dreaded in Congress for a few reasons that could include: employees perceive it as unfair, a grading of their work akin to a first-grade report card; managers view it as an annoying requirement with no connection to office goals, or; offices avoid them completely, leaving staff frustrated without any clear and meaningful feedback on their work.

In the first installment of "Inside the Hill", Members of Congress and staff discuss how social media is changing the way Members can communicate with their constituents.

In the sixth installment of 'Inside the Hill', congressional staff discuss how the Internet has affected the ways congressional offices get their news.